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Succession planning is an essential strategy for businesses to ensure smooth leadership transitions and continuity. It involves preparing for leadership changes—whether due to retirement, unexpected departures, or planned shifts in management. A solid succession plan helps your business stay stable, maintain operations, and continue growing by ensuring you always have capable leaders ready to step […]

In today’s fast-paced business environment, companies must anticipate leadership transitions to ensure long-term success and continuity. Without a solid succession plan in place, organizations risk disruptions that can affect operations, employee morale, and growth. The right strategies can help companies navigate these transitions smoothly and maintain stability during times of change. Understanding Succession Planning Succession […]

For small business owners, effective financial management is crucial to ensure long-term growth and sustainability. Proper financial planning, budgeting, cash flow management, and profitability analysis can help you make informed decisions and avoid potential pitfalls. Here’s a breakdown of these core components and how they can set your business up for success. 1. Financial Planning: […]

In today’s rapidly changing business landscape, having a clear and adaptable business strategy is essential for long-term success. Business strategy development involves crafting a comprehensive plan that aligns a company’s goals with market realities, customer needs, and emerging trends. A well-defined strategy helps ensure that a business not only survives but thrives by navigating challenges […]

In today’s fast-paced digital landscape, businesses face constant pressure to innovate and remain competitive. One of the most transformative technologies driving this change is artificial intelligence (AI). As organizations prepare for transitions—whether due to market shifts or internal restructuring—AI adoption has become essential for success. The Competitive Edge AI empowers businesses to analyze vast amounts […]

By: John Hotson, Business Transition Alliance Co-Founder Lead From Behind is an excerpt from the eBook by John Hotson, How to Find Your Exit – Seven Strategies That Will Build Value and Improve the Saleability of Your Business. For a complimentary copy of the book please email jhotson@btehelps.com When your business was first finding its […]

Business Transition Alliance We know that business transition is the term used to describe when there is a change in the ownership of the business. There may be multiple reasons you find yourself amid a business transition: growing, exiting, or taking a step back from the business are all possibilities. But the truth is, every […]

Business Transition Alliance Entrepreneurship is, in many ways, a dream come true for business owners across the world. However, starting and running your own business also comes with long hours and a lot of pressure from yourself, your team, and your customers. One of the most common feelings in your entrepreneurial journey is loneliness. You […]

It seems like it was only yesterday you sat down and laid out your business goals for the year, with 12 months ahead of you. But here we are, halfway through March, and 20% of the year is gone. How are you doing on achieving the goals you’ve identified as priorities for 2023?

The COVID-19 pandemic was a life-altering event, for many different reasons. Not only did it impact the lives of millions of people around the world, but it also changed the way business is conducted. It changed what is expected of businesses when it comes to the environment as well as their employees' satisfaction and well-being.

As we say goodbye to 2022, business owners must start thinking about what changes they will implement to their business in 2023 and more importantly, what trends they should be aware of this year.

The labour shortage is here to stay and will likely continue to affect our economy for years to come. A recent study by Statistics Canada counted a million unfilled positions in the second quarter of 2022 - the most on record and double pre-pandemic levels. There isn’t a quick solution and this will be something that businesses will need to continuously work on for the foreseeable future. So what can you do?

A six-year study conducted by McKinsey concluded that ethnically and culturally diverse businesses are up to 36% more profitable than the least diverse ones. When it comes to gender alone, the profitability gap widens to 48%. By not implementing DEI&B in your organization, you are missing out on opportunities to watch your team and individual employees truly shine.

As human beings we don’t naturally think about things that are unknown to us. We’re much more comfortable fine-tuning what we do well. While the unknown unknowns may be a ‘black hole’ from an owner’s perspective, it is the area where people looking at the business from the outside will be focusing their attention.

Unsure What Employees Need in Today’s Workplace? - As business owners, there isn’t much that we can do to avoid events such as a pandemic or a labour shortage. However, we can build an environment within our organization that provides our employees and future employees a sense of belonging and purpose. There are three universal needs that employees are currently seeking in a job — what do they entail?

Four Business Trends to Watch Out For In the Fall - As we prepare to come back to the workplace after the summer season, it is important to reconsider business trends and consumer behaviors to stay one step ahead of the competition. Here are some trends to keep an eye on this fall to ensure that your company achieves a more successful 2022.

How to Change your Transition Approach - When entrepreneurs start their business, they generally start by doing things they are good at or things they are passionate about. Over time they develop habits that work for them - and although those habits are valuable practices that have proven to work very well in the early stages of a business, those habits can be the very things that now stand in the way of owners being able to exit the business. So how can you, as a business owner, change your approach?

How are Growth and Scaling Different - "When it comes to growth and scaling a business, many may think these both refer to the same thing - a company getting bigger, increasing revenue, and serving more clients. However, growth and scaling are two different aspects of businesses and should be treated as so.”

As with most things you’ve dealt with in building your business, tackling the issue of scalability starts with accepting the fact that you will most likely have to make some changes. And as Einstein said, the biggest change you will need to make is how you think about your business. I call it creating a scalability mindset.

Value drivers are business characteristics that drive growth. Regardless of your organization’s industry, it is important to consider these drivers: next-generation management, growth strategy, and customer, suppliers, products, services, and industry diversification.

When thinking of exiting your business, entrepreneurs must understand the value of their organization. Business valuation can be a complex process but it is an essential part of a business transition. There are a few different approaches that you can take to understand how much your business is worth. The three primary approaches are known as the Income Approach, the Market Approach, and the Asset Approach.

Whether you are thinking about decreasing turnover, bringing in new technology, increasing sales and customer loyalty, working on your exit strategy, or transitioning your business, it is important to build a strategy that is realistic for you and your organization. Making a solid plan and coming up with an effective strategy to achieve your 2022 goals is essential to make sure that those plans become a reality.

Since 2020, the world has been dealing with rapid transformations across every business sector. Our world is changing extremely fast and business owners must be ready to adapt and take action if they want to keep up with these changes.

If your brand does not have a presence on digital platforms, it is as if your business does not exist. Your social media presence determines how your customers will perceive you, and you must dedicate time and effort to curating it.

The benefits of an engaged workforce are endless. Employees that feel valued and cared for within an organization are less likely to be absent from work and are more likely to stay with you for the long-term and therefore minimize turnover in your business.

Just as with any other aspect of an organization, business owners need to be prepared to make changes and adapt their business models to fit current circumstances.

Eventually, all business owners will have to consider exiting their business. Which exit strategy best suits you and your business’s needs?

During the past year, some of your employees may have felt isolated, worried, and/or anxious about their future in your organization. As you prepare to welcome them back into your company, it is critical to make employee engagement a priority.

Owners need to develop a market-focussed business model to deal with the fast-paced changes they are faced with. The main consideration needs to be that conventional strategic thinking will no longer serve you in the “new normal.”

When your customers become your fans, you will quickly realize that you have the potential to increase your revenue without having to increase your marketing budget. Word-of-mouth is a powerful marketing tool and when your customers are also your loyal fans, they will often do the work for you.

Ever since the beginning of the pandemic, years’ worth of market and business changes have been compressed into days, weeks, and months. This has been highly disruptive for small businesses, requiring business owners to rethink their business model. Despite the unprecedented changes, we’ve seen many small business owners weather the storm and keep up with business disruptions, altering their offering in ways they have not imagined before.

COVID-19 was completely unprecedented and happened so fast that unfortunately for many, no matter how fast they reacted, they could not contend with it. So how do you plan for something that no one has ever experienced before?

Business valuation is a complex process, and many different factors need to be taken into consideration to determine how much an organization is worth. We have narrowed this down to three lessons that came out of the past year and that owners need to build on in 2021.

What is the next step in this strange new normal? How do you continue to not only survive, but to build value in your business - even now as we are in the second wave of this pandemic?

Many owners are reworking their plans to counter the impact of the pandemic on their business. But how can they ensure all of the thinking that has gone into developing that plan is put into action? Try these three steps.

There is no denying that these are extremely difficult and challenging times for leaders all around the world. But how can leaders lead in such unprecedented times? How can businesses engage with risks to ensure positive outcomes for their organization? It all comes back to one word: trust.

Owners who have been wanting to sell or step back from their business, have been particularly hard hit during this global turmoil and, as the song goes, must now deal with not being able to get what they want. What happens to our ability to project continued growth in a world that has been turned upside down? What is the bottom line for owners planning to exit?

The COVID-19 pandemic is a huge challenge for business owners, and likely the biggest crisis you as a business owner will ever face. Despite this, it is possible to take back control of your life and your business.

There are important lessons the pandemic is teaching business owners and employees alike. In fact, COVID-19 will forever change how businesses operate going forward. Here are three lessons about crisis management that should be top of mind for businesses during this time.

The rapid advancement of the COVID-19 outbreak has brought an unprecedented upheaval to all of our lives. It has caused us to change how we interact with friends and family, forced us to rethink our professional and financial plans and impacted life’s simplest decisions - like stepping outside of our house or having coffee with a friend. It has forced us all to examine what we have taken for granted all our lives and reconsider the independence we have become accustomed to.

As of March 2020 the sand beneath our feet shifted as never before, and the assumptions that worked well in more predictable times need to be put aside. In the words of Albert Einstein, “The thinking that got us to where we are today is not the thinking that will get us to where we need to be”.

There are many different strategies that businesses can follow when their goal is growth. When trying to decide which strategy to implement, you as the owner, must consider your target market, finances and industry, as all of these factors will play a big role in achieving your results.

An experienced transition expert will provide business owners with the insights and perspective they need whether they plan to grow, exit, or step back from their business.

Having engaged employees has always been an essential part of a business. But today, employees are looking for a place where they can feel like they belong – work culture is shifting from a duty to an experience.

Digitalization is everywhere – from the way we receive information to the way in which we communicate that information daily, and it’s no different when it comes to your business. It is inevitable that with the changes and advances in the digital world, come the need for adaptations.

More than ever, consumers are demanding that businesses take action when it comes to our environment, and it is essential that corporations commit to and start promoting strategic sustainability that goes beyond recycling.

How do you know when it’s time to step aside and make room for a new generation of leaders? And what’s the best way to handle the transition?

Employee retention, correlating to employee engagement and employer branding, is essential to a successful company. What better way to help your brand than by having your own employees say amazing things about their workplace?

Fail early, fail often, fail forward. As most experiments fail, real progress requires trying out tons of ideas, decreasing the lag time between attempts and increasing the knowledge gained from results.” -Dominic Basulto, Silicon Valley guru

As you face your transition, you need to encourage your people to think differently. The focus needs to be less on winning and more on looking for new opportunities that may in fact be unsuccessful.

According to the BDC, enforcing a sustainability strategy for your business can lead to reduced waste, lower costs and increased customer engagement. Not only is there an incentive for such a strategy because it's good for the planet, but it is also good for business.

If you can’t effectively train both your successors and your customers to transact business without you, you will never be able to leave your business.

It's important not to fall into the “that’s the way we’ve always done it” mentality, or worse, a “that’s not our business” attitude during a transition.

“A leader is like a shepherd. He stays behind the flock, letting the most nimble go out ahead, whereupon the others follow, not realizing that all along they are being directed from behind.” - Nelson Mandela

I don’t know Paulo but I wonder how his retirement is going...

The thinking that got you here won’t get you to where you need to be.” - Albert Einstein

Why is cash flow so important in a business transition? The stronger the EBITDA, the more prospective buyers will be willing to pay for the business.

Whether you are thinking to grow, exit or step back from your business, these all require effective transition strategies to ensure success.

This year we have decided to help the less fortunate people we all see on the streets every day.

Setting out to transform your company to an “entirely different level of effectiveness” can be an exhilarating experience.

As a business owner you are concerned about growth. You may be thinking - is the market right? Can I afford it? Should I wait until things improve?

You can feel the positive energy when you walk through the door. I want this company to win, not just for the sake of the business, but also for Molly.

Identifying the things that build value, and making that transferable to the next generation of owners can be a challenging undertaking.

Business owners need help to unlock the hidden value in their business. Transition out of your business on your own terms and realize value.

The unknown can be a scary place. But it can also be the place where the real value of the business has been hiding all along.

Whether you’re selling or handing off your business, with the end in sight, now is the time for owners to extract that extra bit of effort to finish strong.

‘The thinking that got us to where we are today isn’t the thinking that’s going to get us to where we need to be.’ – Albert Einstein

“To accomplish great things we must first dream, then visualize, then plan… believe … act!” – Alfred A Montapert, American Author

The biggest thing that will enable owners to walk away with the rewards they deserve, may be the hardest thing for them to do…. to get out of their own way!

You may think your brand is one of those intangible assets in your business. Try to explain that to the CEO of Coke, Apple or the United Way for that matter.

Improvement in profitably required to support older partner’s retirement. Opportunity exists for growth through acquisition of competitors. Company must reduce costs and involve key employees in operations to assimilate acquisitions into the business. Focused staff on deliverables and provided strategic messaging for internal and external communications Development of organizational structure and job descriptions enabled Senior […]

Founder wants to step back. The next generation are technically strong but lack the time, business acumen and experience to restructure business operations. A hands-on approach was required. Developed and implemented tactics and strategies to align business operations with the 3 year objectives (CASTLE) Helping manage the pace of change was a critical BTA activity […]

Reposition the company’s 160 year-old traditional auction house brand to appeal to the next generation ​of potential buyers for a contemporary, international auction business