Built to Sell: Turn Your Business Into One You Can Sell [Hardcover]

John Warrillow (Author), Bo Burlingham (Foreword)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 1, 2010

When you start a business, it’s natural to dream of selling it one day. In fact, more than half of America’s 27 million business owners now say they want to sell their business in the next 10 years. You may want to retire, travel, cash out, or just sleep well at night knowing you could sell your business. Unfortunately, just 1 out of every 100 business owners is successful in selling their company each year. To sell your business you need to know:

• The 3 biggest mistakes business owners make when selling

• The 8 steps to creating a sellable company

• How to attract multiple strategic bidders for your business

• How to maximize your valuation and get the highest possible price for your business

• The secret to getting your cash up front and avoiding a lengthy earn out Built To Sell: Turn Your Business Into One You Can Sell will show you how to start, grow and profitably exit a business.

 

"John does a masterful job in Built To Sell of illuminating the qualities that business buyers look for in a company" - Bo Burlingham Editor-at-large, Inc. Magazine and bestselling author of Small Giants, The Knack, The Great Game of Business and A Stake In The Outcome.

Editorial Reviews

Review

“John Warrillow's story gets business leaders to focus on a critical question: If others wouldn't pay a fortune for your business, do you have a business worth growing? This is essential reading for owners looking to build a valuable business.”  —Verne Harnish, founder, Gazelles, and author, The Rockefeller Habits

“Your business just might be worthless if you don't read this book.”  —John Jantsch, author, Duct Tape Marketing

“Small businesses need this book. So many business owners have the dream of building a business that's bigger than themselves, and getting away from the tyranny of constantly putting out fires. John's book is an entertaining, to-the-point way of showing them how to do it.”  —Anita Campbell, editor in chief, Small Business Trends

“Having built and sold four successful companies, John knows the secrets to creating a sellable business.”  —The E-Myth Worldwide

“Covering every important aspect of the process, from attracting multiple bidders to getting the most for your business, this book easily explains what you must know and do if you want to create a business you can sell. “  —Steve Strauss, USA Today

“One of the strengths of the book is the continuity. It was great following Alex through his trials and tribulations. Very real life. I fully intend on sharing with my customers and TEC.  I'm sure it will be a tremendous success!”  —Bruce Hunter, chair, TEC (Vistage) Canada

“Any current or aspiring service business owner should read Built to Sell and take heed of John Warrillow's valuable lessons and Alex Stapleton's enriching and engaging experience.”  —Mike Handelsman, general manager, Bizbuysell.com

About the Author

John Warrillow is an entrepreneur, speaker, the founding producer of a nationally syndicated radio feature Today’s Entrepreneur and the author of Drilling for Gold. Bo Burlingham is the editor at large of Inc. magazine and the author of The Knack, Small Giants: Companies That Choose to Be Great Instead of Big, and A Stake in the Outcome. He lives in Berkeley, California.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 208 pages
• Publisher: Flip Jet Media, Inc. (February 1, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0986480304
• ISBN-13: 978-0986480300
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.6 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (114 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #676,715 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

John Warrillow is the author of Built To Sell: Turn Your Business Into One You Can Sell.

Throughout his career as an entrepreneur, John has started and exited four companies. Most recently he transformed Warrillow & Co. from a boutique consultancy into a recurring revenue model subscription business, which he sold to The Corporate Executive Board (NASDAQ: EXBD) in 2008.

He is the Author of Drilling for Gold and in 2008 was recognized by BtoB Magazine's "Who's Who" list as one of America's most influential business-to-business marketers.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

36 of 36 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars It's about creating value, not selling your business April 29, 2011

By LKL in Santa Fe

Format:Hardcover

The only thing wrong with this book is the title. "Built To Sell" is catchy but the book is really about how to create value in a business that's separate from you, the owner. Sure, if you want to sell your business, you need to do that, but you need to do it for the good of the business whatever your plans. "Built To Sell" is about creating business value, whether you're going to sell or not. It's also a great read. It's told as a story. That's not unusual today in a business book, but most are clunky efforts that make you wince. Not this one. I read it on a flight and kept reading at the airport when I disembarked, just to finish it. I have a little business now and during the 80s and 90s I ran a business that sold to little businesses around the country (we had a million customers). I know this market -- every small business owner should read this book.

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Built To Sell April 28, 2011

By Ted Matthews

Format:Hardcover

This is an amazing tool. Finally someone has cracked the code on what it takes to have a saleable business. I have created and sold 2 businesses - the hard way, without maximizing my return - I am now reengineering my current business with Warrillow's guidance, so I don't make the same mistakes again. This book is a quick, (who's got time?) fun, easy read, full of simple to GET principles. You can start to effect positive change the minute you put it down. My tip: Buy a few copies, for each of your senior people - you won't want to wait for this one to be passed around!

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Light at the End of the Tunnel May 23, 2010

By John F. Lehman

Format:Hardcover

Built to Sell
by John Warrillow
flipjetmedia, 2010
160 pages, $25.95

THE GOOD
This is a book every entrepreneur must read, whether or not they are going to sell their business. Years ago I read a book stating that there are people good at starting an enterprise, those who can make it profitable, others who excel at sustaining it and finally, a unique few individuals who can figure out how to profitably get out from under it. A business needs all four. This book dramatizes how one person can accomplish each of these steps. As someone who ran a small ad agency for ten years like the one used as an example, I didn't see the slightest misstep in this examination of the ups and downs of owning a business. We all need a light at the end of the tunnel.

THE BAD
According to the author the secret to business success seems to be to move from a service provider to providing a unique product (or product-like service). Two problems: 1) There are businesses that don't follow this model that are successful, 2) Things change and the context in which these products are offered is variable.

& WHAT BUGS ME
Oh, how I wish I could have had this book back then! These are the elements a business owner needs to come to terms with (and some of the reasons why he or she has a hard time doing that). $[...] is expensive for a little book, but it is the best business investment you will ever make.

Buy It: X Library: Skip It:

John Lehman, [...]