By CASEY NEILL
Build a business that’s ready to be sold.
That was the advice Jason Cunningham gave guests at the Greater Dandenong Chamber of Commerce breakfast at Greyhounds Entertainment in Springvale on Wednesday 6 July.
The author, radio and TV presenter, accountant and business owner said 44 businesses in Australia closed their doors every day.
He spoke about the day he arrived home from school to learn that his dad had lost his business and that the family of five would be moving in with his Nan.
They all lived in his dad’s childhood bedroom for six years, assembled taps after school and jewellery after dinner, and worked cleaning shifts.
Mr Cunningham tried to talk his dad out of setting up another business.
His dad ignored the advice and the company is now one of the most successful clients on the books of his son’s accountancy firm.
Mr Cunningham said it was crucial for a business to understand its purpose, what it gave to others.
“If you focus on what you give, what you want will come to you,” he said.
Mr Cunningham said a business which was ready to be sold ought to be profitable, have good cash flow, good customers and team members, and be able to operate without the boss.
“You don’t have to sell it,” he said.
He urged business owners to identify a buyer, be it a competitor, an employee or someone in a different industry, and then build a business that they would want to buy.
Mr Cunningham said the company’s financials should be the final focus, not the first.
“It is your people, your processes and your customers that drive your financials,” he said.
