Profits result from value. The focused process by which a company concentrates on creating value for its consumers while also profiting from increased revenues is called value creation.
As a business owner, you are already burdened with numerous responsibilities. Perhaps, you can do it alone, but can you do it all while still having time for other activities (e.g., exercise, community service, and family time)? Most likely not. You’ll need an advisor to guide you through the value creation process so you can leave successfully.
When looking for a value advisor, seek someone who is:
- Honest
- Driven by value
- Effective at communication.
Benefits of Working with a Value Creation Advisor
A value creation advisor assists with:
- Preparing financial documents (such as cash flow or profit-and-loss statements) and analyzing them to find cash flow leaks or areas where the company may cut costs.
- Developing a plan to build financial reserves for the company to be used in an emergency.
- Assisting you in meeting the business’ tax reporting and payment obligations.
- Advise on specific financial products or services that may benefit your company.
- Creating a corporate strategy for long-term growth.
- Preparing a succession plan to transfer control of the company to someone else when you’re ready to retire.
Hiring a value creation advisor for your company is a financial commitment. However, that investment might pay off for you in terms of:
- Time and energy savings
- Cash savings
- Improving your company’s overall strategy
- Developing a long-term strategy that incorporates succession and retirement planning.
Someone Honest
An honest advisor:
- Provides a candid opinion of the company’s current situation and gives practical advice. A skilled value creation advisor may help you live a fulfilling life, while a bad one might ruin your life plans and financial savings. Get on the right track by asking the appropriate questions.
- It helps calculate the company’s current market value and assists you with regular and timely valuations.
- Gives an honest and realistic timeline to exit and helps translate business objectives into financial data to demonstrate how the company can achieve them (with or without the owner).
Many experts can speak a fair game about retirement planning and developing a retirement strategy. However, you don’t want a salesman. You need an advisor who can perform the detailed study and number crunching required to reach such a determination. This entails working with a financial planner who has earned the Certified Financial Planner (CFP) or Chartered Financial Consultant (CFC) designations. Both require an advisor to fulfill strict professional requirements.
The role of a value creation advisor is to assist clients in generating additional corporate value. A trustworthy value advisor serves their clients’ best interests by addressing inherent opportunities and threats to financial security.
They might do so by focusing on top-line revenue growth, enhancing operational efficiency, streamlining organizational procedures, upgrading HR systems, or combining all the above objectives. However, value growth is the goal, and they will help you create the road map to get there.
Someone Who Is Driven by Value
Business owners have a lot on their plates, making it challenging to stay focused on goals established earlier. An excellent advisor keeps the owner on track to meet established objectives. This person must be fair and impartial and capable of confronting problems head-on.
Consider the case of someone who is looking to build a home. That person may be able to employ technology to design and produce architectural blueprints for the house, but have they considered all the aspects that must be considered to build it? For example, did they consider local construction regulations, the terrain gradient, the type of materials, and other factors?
A competent architect can ensure that the plans are drafted to the exact proportions and requirements required to ensure that the house is weatherproof. A general contractor ensures that the plans are followed to deliver the required outcome within the specified time limit and coordinates with other specialists. In our case, advisors act as competent architects.
Experience proves that investing in the advice of a professional value creation advisor helps clients get ahead and remain ahead of those who try to go it alone or who chase market gains.
Someone Effective at Communication
No matter how qualified the advisor you choose, one without relevant experience in the role will not meet your expectations. A good value creation advisor must know what to communicate, when, and how. The advisor should initiate conversations about the company’s goals, asset planning, the owner’s exit, and plans for the company.
Look for an advisor with a history of determining financial requirements for targets. Few people get everything they desire. An advisor assists in distinguishing between “must-have” and “nice-to-have” ambitions and how much money is required to achieve them. While calculating funding may be straightforward math, the rest of the process isn’t.
A value creation advisor assists businesses in comprehending the hazards the client may encounter, how to manage them, and the client’s readiness to forgo a more luxurious lifestyle today in exchange for future security. Of course, this isn’t possible without clear communication between the two parties (the business owner and the advisor).
Advisors may also be called upon to be the voice of reason or to disagree with a CEO for the company’s sake, in which case they must be forthright and realistic in their argument. An excellent advisor gives constructive input in a way that promotes growth and development.
Related: What NOT to Look For in an Advisor
Conclusion
An advisor’s role is to guide clients closer to their goals through a systematic and progressive method. The value delivered by advisors is key for an owner to grow economically and safeguard wealth.
The Value Scout platform helps entrepreneurs and advisors grow in their respective fields with the help of our highly experienced team. Value Scout can help you:
- Establish a baseline value. Value Scout delivers an accurate value based on our unique algorithm and human quality assurance.
- Determine the value gap. The value gap refers to the company’s added value for the owner to exit.
- Identify opportunities to add value. Value Scout generates a list of prospective worth creation possibilities based on your client’s beginning value and a probability of success for each one.
- Plan and carry out value generation initiatives. Value Scout connects value creation to your client’s annual business strategy and breaks it into quarterly objectives and weekly responsibilities. And you can view everything in real-time.
