Murphy Business - October 2017

Gives Insight Into Nike’s Success ‘SHOE DOG’

Often, business owners know they want a certain price when they go to sell their business, but they have not invested the time and effort to create that value, or they have liquidated the value, leaving the seller deeply disappointed — if they had only known! HOW TO GET MILLIONS FOR YOUR BUSINESS

“We wanted Nike to be the world’s best sports and fitness company. Once you say that, you have a focus.You don’t end up making wing tips or sponsoring the next Rolling Stones world tour.” –Phil Knight When an entrepreneur or company becomes massively successful, it’s easy to construct a narrative that makes that success seem like destiny.They look back on the past with rose-colored glasses, interpreting every decision as a stepping

This checklist will reveal the six things you can do to secure the largest value possible for your business.

1

DETERMINE BUSINESSVALUE.

• Obtain a third-party valuation to establish a baseline.

stone on their way to eventual victory. Of course, real success stories are never this linear. Honest accounts of what it takes to dominate an industry are hard to come by, which makes Nike CEO Phil Knight’s “Shoe Dog” a refreshing change of pace from the standard business memoir. If there’s one word that best describes “Shoe Dog,” it’s “candid.” Knight gives equal space to his successes, failings, and insecurities. He also isn’t afraid to admit when luck was the deciding factor.Take the story of the famous Nike swoosh, for example. Knight could easily claim that he saw its brilliance from the get-go, but that’s not what happened.When an art student came up with the design — for the meager price of $35 — Knight’s response was,“It’ll have to do.” That’s not to say that Knight isn’t a visionary in many ways. In the early days of Nike, Knight hustled to an extreme degree. Even when he was selling track shoes out of his trunk, his belief never wavered. Signing Michael Jordan in 1984 revolutionized not just the athletic shoe industry, but celebrity sponsorship in general. He surrounded himself with smart, capable people, expanded sensibly, and never lost sight of his vision. If you want a book that gives you simple, clichéd takeaways about how to become massively successful,“Shoe Dog” is not the book for you. If, instead, you crave what Bill Gates calls an “honest reminder of what the path to business success really looks like,” then you should check it out.With a personal perspective, suspense, and more than a few wild anecdotes,“Shoe Dog” soars in a way few business books manage to. But, then again, that’s what Knight’s shoes have always promised to help athletes do.

2

CLEAN UPYOUR RECORDS.

• Remove all personal expenses. • Simplify bookkeeping. • Reconcile inventory and your balance sheet. • Fine tune accounts receivable and accounts payable.

3

DIVERSIFY CLIENTSANDVENDORS.

• Accurate I-9s for all employees. • Replace ineffective employees. • Optimize schedules and pay. • Secure key employees. • Set up redundancy with vendors.

4

REVIEWCONTRACTS.

• Renegotiate longer contracts. • Secure lease options.

5

MAKE IT SHINE.

• Clean up the building and repave the parking lot. • Improve marketing materials.

6

PLAN FORTAX CONSEQUENCESAFTER THE SALE.

• Review retirement plan. • Review structuring options.

Kimberly Deas, Business Broker Kim’s family includes her 7-year-old daughter, a cat, and any miscellaneous animals her daughter catches. When she’s not brokering deals, she is ballroom dancing, doing wine tastings, and checking out new restaurants in the area.

John Miller, Attorney John recently celebrated 15 years of marriage to his wife, Krista. Together, they have two darling children, Avalon and Ian. He loves spending time at the ocean and

singing lead vocals and playing bass for Jacksonville’s best band, BayStreet.

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