Poonam Kaur, CEO of fds, joins Chris Fordy at ActionCOACH on the Northern Powerhouses – Business Success Stories podcast.
ActionCOACH assists Yorkshire business owners in growing their businesses, profits and wealth. The organisation coaches 17,000 businesses every year, delivering 1-2-1 business mentoring and coaching, group coaching and business training, and specialising in professional service firms and technology businesses.
The Northern Powerhouses- Business Success Stories podcast gives a voice to leaders and entrepreneurs, exploring how they built their businesses, achieved success and sharing advice for others in business.
Key Points to Consider When Selling a Business
A lot of business owners looking to sell leave the process too late, and therefore, they are not able to achieve the outcome that they once desired. To combat this, it is imperative to start preparing for your succession planning journey early. Poonam highlights three points to consider:
- What is it that you want to gain from the transaction?
- What is the best route for the business?
- What is the best option for the team?
Key Considerations When Acquiring a Business
A huge myth surrounding buying businesses is that the acquirer must have significant personal wealth. In reality, transactions can be structured in various ways to allow buyers to acquire businesses.
It is also necessary to be clear about your strategic plan and what it is you are trying to achieve. If ideas or actions do not align with your overall vision of the business, they will not meet the objectives that you seek to achieve. However, in that same vein, it is important not to become overly fixated on one plan, as situations can change over time. Having a flexible approach will allow you to approach new ideas with a broader mind.
Career Challenges and Growth
Poonam shares that juggling motherhood and a flourishing career has led to very difficult times in which her commitment was questioned. To combat this, she rerouted the questioning to focus on her career development and skills rather than on her personal life as a mother.
As corporate finance is a predominantly male-dominated industry, Poonam finds that she can be heavily underestimated; she makes it her mission to challenge these stereotypes, break barriers and change uninformed perspectives.
The Definition of a “True Business”
ActionCOACH describes a “true business” as a commercially profitable enterprise that works without its owners. fds has seen that less reliance on business owners means that outcomes are likely to be maximised; business owners who are deeply embedded within a business can be a high cause for concern, as business growth rests heavily on one individual’s shoulders. It is key for businesses to be able to maintain growth and steady business operations with limited owner input.
For businesses that are heavily reliant on the owner and are looking to sell, it is beneficial to put a long-term plan in place to reduce this reliance. After an acquirer has been chosen, a sufficient handover period may be required in order to ensure that the business does not suffer during this transition of ownership.
Advice to Younger Professionals
Younger professionals who are just beginning their careers may have already created mental blockages and barriers and are swamped with doubt in terms of what they can and can’t achieve. Determination, willingness to put in hard work, and a solid support system go a long way in helping new professionals find their way. Perhaps it will take longer than anticipated, or you may have to embark on a different route to get there, but the only true failure is giving up.