Does your company need to be restructured? Before you answer, “No!”, think about this. What is Restructuring? Yes, it can be a bankruptcy restructuring, both financially and operationally. But truly ALL BUSINESSES at one point or another need restructuring, or if you prefer, process refinement. Think of a high growth company. Now at $25 million in revenue, can they use the same business processes that they used as a $5 million company? Or like the lab business we just finished, it was a $30 million company and now with reimbursement changes it is a $12 million company. Can they run the business the same way at $12 million as they did at $30 million? Of course not. We suggest that there are at least 5 areas that management needs to consider restructuring. Revenue Cycle Management The process of completing an order, billing and then collecting the receivable will absolutely change over time. Often different systems come together to produce a bill. In the lab business, for instance, there is a lab information system that receives information from the lab equipment and transmits certain data to the billing company. In a multi-location retailer or restaurant, the local store data is funneled …
Searching For 3 Entrepreneurial CEOs in 2015
Business Owner / CEOs who want to sell some or all of their business often have a problem. Some CEOs are savvy enough to know they have the problem — most may never know, and that lack of knowledge will result either in failure to find a buyer, or in a purchase price well below what is possible. One CEO (we will call him George) didn’t realize that he had a problem until after a failed attempt to sell his business. We represented George as a sell side investment banking adviser. He came to us with a buyer and our job was to advise him in the transaction. Result? We advised him NOT to do the deal – and he agreed. Why would we advise NOT to do a deal? After all, our fee is based on a transaction getting done! Easy answer – the price & terms he was offered were much too low. His business was not “ready” to be sold. While he had a successful business, it had not grown in 5 years, fluctuating between $10-12 million in annual sales. I asked him a simple question. “George, would you like to double or triple your revenue, improve …
“Wellness” in a Physician’s Practice — What does it look like?
I’ve become convinced that an ever growing % of the population is ready to pay for “wellness” as part of their medical care. Why? Over the past few years, deductibles & co-pays have skyrocketed. People are paying more out of pocket and getting the same or less healthcare. What if people could pay what they are now paying and get better healthcare? The baby boomers are healthier & more interested in integrative medicine than ever before. If a quality alternative existed, I believe they would be attracted. So this is the question … What do you think would need to be part of a Wellness Practice. Some docs are promoting Wellness, but don’t act as the patients PC physician. I’m inclined to combine the two so a single physician directs my care. What’s included? Testing? Infusion? Vitamins? Hormone treatments? Nutrition? I’d like to hear from you — if you were starting with a blank sheet of paper to design an integrative wellness program, what specifically would be included? How would you charge for services in such a way that insurance would pay as much as possible? What would the real world model look like?
5 Common Mistakes to Avoid When Raising Equity
Raising capital for a business, whether it is a start-up or a mature company, can be an extraordinarily frustrating and time consuming experience. Entrepreneurs want to operate and grow their business, not raise capital. But the fact is that for most businesses, the entrepreneur or CEO is responsible for raising capital. When attempting to raise capital, CEO’s very often make some crucial mistakes. These mistakes not only can dictate whether or not the business will be able to raise capital, but also how long it will take and the ultimate cost of the capital. Using the wrong assumptions, raising capital can be impossible. We believe there are 5 common mistakes that CEO’s make when raising capital: 1. Unrealistic Expectations of Value Most of us has watched Shark Tank at least once. Just watch one episode and you will likely see this mistake. The entrepreneur goes to professional investors with a company that did $100,000 in sales last year and confidently tells the Sharks he will sell 10% of his business for $1 million. What’s the chance of this CEO getting funding? Zero. With few exceptions, investors will pay for what you have already done – not what you believe you …
Q4 – 2014 : CEO … Time for Re-Evaluating & Preparation
The last quarter of 2014 has begun. This is the time of year for CEO’s to re-evaluate their businesses, goals & plans — not just for the balance of 2014, but also to get the business ready for 2015. I’ve been talking to quite a few private equity investors recently, and they continue to be amazed at the lack of preparation by so many companies that want to sell some or all of their business. Most company CEOs do a great job knowing their business, and knowing what their business needs to succeed. But far too often, the same high quality company CEO fails to understand or to prepare for an investor or strategic partner. As a CEO, if we were to walk into a customer’s office to try to sell our products or services, we would be well prepared to know what the customer is likely thinking … what the customer’s needs and desires are … how much they probably think our products or services are worth. The CEO will know going into the meeting how to position his company, what to emphasize to the potential client and how to effectively sell the prospect. Why is it then that …
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