You may not be old enough to remember this 1979 advertising campaign, “Orange Juice… It isn’t just for breakfast anymore.”  It is a simple but catchy phrase.  Eight little words monumentally changed the trajectory of an entire industry.

It Isn’t Just for Breakfast Anymore.

This saying got stuck in my head a few weeks ago as I was thinking about the new science of strategic business valuation.  It echoed a coming sea-change for an old established industry in desperate need of a new perspective.

For some context, in the late 1970s, the Florida Orange Growers Association was facing significant issues stemming from political challenges and compounded by declining market share. These headwinds threatened this very old and established industry.  The group responsible for the campaign needed a way to make a significant change.  Not just in incremental sales, but in changing habits.

This simple eight-word phrase became the basis for a rebranding campaign changing an old and very traditional way of thinking.  It was an amazing pivot and forever changed the trajectory of that industry.

Our team at Kahuna has been wrestling with a problem very similar to what the Orange Growers Association was facing as we try to share the monumental changes related to business valuation for growth entrepreneurs.

Business valuation is both an art and science and has been around in some form since the first business was created.  Over the last century, this industry has evolved and developed more rules, more bureaucracy, and more confusion.  It has not really been very friendly or accommodating for the entrepreneur.

But all of this is changing. Over the last five years, there have been some incredible advances in this industry.  There is a new and emerging technology, new methodology and more importantly, a new perspective for valuation for the benefit of the entrepreneur. If you are a growth-focused business or practice builder, this is nothing short of revolutionary.

The challenge at hand is how to communicate this monumental industry-changing situation.  How do you celebrate a revolutionary solution to a problem most entrepreneurs don’t actually know exists?

Over the last few weeks, I’ve been quietly repeating a similar phrase in my head, “Business Valuation… It isn’t just for Exits Anymore!”  

It is ironic because as I’m writing this, today is the seven-year anniversary of my first major multi-million-dollar exit.   This feels pretentious as I write it, but it is not meant that way at all.  In fact, it was much like what Charles Dickens wrote in A Tale of Two Cities.  It really was the best of times and it was the worst of times.

For us, it was the best of times because, after seventeen years of business building efforts, we had a seven-figure exit.  It was the worst of times because I knew in my heart — and later came to validate —  it should have been an EIGHT figure exit (or more)!

In full candor, if I knew then what I know now, I would not have made an exit until much later and on more favorable terms!   Once we were forced to sell, our business valuation became set in cement, and worse still, we had NO time to do anything to change our valuation.

We went from blissful ignorance about the value of business valuation in regard to our strategic planning to painful ignorance as we realized what we did not know had robbed our wealth vehicle of several million dollars.

Which brings me back to my initial thinking… Business Valuation.  It isn’t just for exits anymore.

Prior to this, our first, business valuation, we were wildly unaware of how far off we were. We thought our business was worth more.  After enduring the cold, unfeeling and analytical process of that business valuation, it reported a much lower valuation along with a justification of why we were getting our gruel and why we needed to like it.

The business valuation process we endured — well it sucked!  It was expensive, intrusive and it worked against us at almost every turn to improve the buyer’s negotiating leverage and strip ours.

Probably the worst thing about the whole process was that once we got our “number”, we had absolutely no time to learn, adapt, make changes, adjust strategy, accentuate positives, explain negatives or any number of strategic business planning activities to positively affect our business valuation.

We are taking our lessons and sharing our story to help entrepreneurs understand a new science of business valuation for improved choices and amplified options.

The secret of the new science is not only knowing the value of your business but also knowing the drivers of value in your business.  This new approach even uncovers the potential for value in your business, creating abundant choices for increased value.  This process does not cost thousands of dollars. For less than $4000, you can discover the value of your business and use this as a way to maximize your future value.

We are passionate about helping and educating other growth-focused entrepreneurs and business builders on the importance of Business Valuation.  The good news is you can completely avoid the stark and painful reality we endured.

Over the past five years, advances in technology and data analysis tools combined with a new methodology for the benefit of the entrepreneur is a complete game-changer.

You now have the ability to discover not only the value of your business today but the drivers of your value in the future.  Knowing this critical information gives you back your control

Use the information and insights uncovered in a Discovery Business Valuation™to guide your focus to recalibrate your growth and profit trajectory with more precision than you ever thought possible.

A Discovery Business Valuation™ is far less invasive and significantly more affordable than the process we endured.

As one business builder to another, I’d like to challenge you to check out the benefits of a Discovery Business Valuation™.

Business Valuation…it REALLY Isn’t Just for Exits Anymore!

-Frank F Lunn
CEO & Founder of Kahuna Business Group