Rock LaManna11.17.15
Clean your business like you’d clean your home
If you were selling your home, you’d probably declutter, paint some rooms and improve the landscaping – anything to improve its appeal and command top dollar.
Selling your business isn’t much different. Start cleaning up your business’s expensive inefficiencies, daily clutter, excess inventory and practices now, and it’ll pay off later.
Here are two ways to start trimming the fat before selling:
1. Value stream mapping – Before any real “mapping” can begin, you need to identify the process(es) you want to improve. Get feedback from trusted employees about any operational shortcomings that exist. Once this is complete, you can start mapping out a solution. Map your current state of affairs, build a plan for improvement, implement it, and track the results!
2. Focus on six key areas – One of biggest challenges for owners seeking a leaner approach is identifying a starting point – especially if operational clutter has been building up for years or even decades.
According to Ed, there are six key areas that business owners often overlook:
● Reduce your yield loss
● Determine your scrap costs
● Analyze value-add process steps and eliminate the unnecessary steps
● Find your rework costs from botched jobs
● Take a lean approach to administrative functions
● Prioritize issues that affect the customer first
If you’re looking for a place to start, begin by analyzing each area, refine accordingly, and watch your profitability trend upward.
As effective as these strategies might be, they aren’t instantaneous fixes. Planning and execution can take months or even years. That’s why, especially if you’re planning on selling your business, you need to get the ball rolling now! Don’t fall under the assumption that expansion is the be-all end-all of driving a profitable sale. Shift some of your attention to adopting a leaner approach to your business’s operations now, and reap the benefits later.
Rock LaManna helps printing owners and CEOs use their company financials to prioritize and choose the proper strategic path. He is President and CEO of the LaManna Alliance, and provides guidance on how to grow a printing business, merge with a synergistic partner, make a strategic acquisition, or create a succession plan. Rock can be reached by email at Rock@RockLaManna.com.
Rock LaManna helps printing owners and CEOs use their company financials to prioritize and choose the proper strategic path. He is President and CEO of the LaManna Alliance, and provides guidance on how to grow a printing business, merge with a synergistic partner, make a strategic acquisition, or create a succession plan. Rock can be reached by email at Rock@RockLaManna.com.