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Built to Sell: Creating a Business That Can Thrive Without You Audible Audiobook – Unabridged

John Warrillow (Author), Erik Synnestvedt (Narrator), LLC Gildan Media (Publisher)

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A business parable about how to create a start-up that won't trap you when you want to sell it. According to John Warrillow, the number one mistake entrepreneurs make is to build a business that relies too heavily on them. Thus, when the time comes to sell, buyers aren't confident that the company-even if it's profitable-can stand on its own. To illustrate this, Warrillow introduces us to a fictional small business owner named Alex who is struggling to sell his advertising agency. Alex turns to Ted, an entrepreneur and old family friend, who encourages Alex to pursue three criteria to make his business sellable:

Teachable: focus on products and services that you can teach employees to deliver.
Valuable: avoid price wars by specializing in doing one thing better than anyone else.
Repeatable: generate recurring revenue by engineering products that customers have to repurchase often.

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Built to Sell: Creating a Business That Can Thrive Without You

John Warrillow (Author), Erik Synnestvedt (Narrator), LLC Gildan Media (Publisher)

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Product details

Audible Audiobook
Listening Length: 4 hours and 24 minutes
Program Type: Audiobook
Version: Unabridged
Publisher: Gildan Media, LLC
Audible.com Release Date: May 12, 2011
Whispersync for Voice: Ready
Language: English
ASIN: B0050J3IPA
Amazon Best Sellers Rank:
- #183 in Books > Business & Money > Small Business & Entrepreneurship > Entrepreneurship
- #239 in Books > Business & Money > Business Culture > Motivation & Self-Improvement
- #445 in Books > Self-Help > Success

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A worthwhile business fable

November 10, 2015

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

I have a strong bias against business fables. I generally don't read them and don't put much stock into what I term "business fiction."

In BUILT TO SELL, however, John Warrilow draws on his personal experience in starting and selling four companies to craft an entertaining primer. The "story" of Alex Stapleton and his marketing company compose most of the book. Frustrated, Alex decides to sell the company, and while discussing his lot with mentor Ted, he discovers (as many entrepreneurs do) that he has nothing to sell. To paraphrase Michael Gerber, THE E-MYTH REVISITED, Alex really has a job with a lunatic for a boss.

Through Ted's tips and coaching Alex eventually builds a business he can sell. The lessons Alex learns apply to anyone who owns a business.

Specialize, don't generalize
Create a scalable product or service that is teachable, valuable and repeatable
Don't concentrate more than 15% with one customer
The business can't rely on you, the owner

There are 35 wonderful pages that follow the fable, the Implementation Guide and Ted's Tips, highlighted and standing alone.

Since reading Warrilow's book...in one day...I have recommended or purchased it for a number of my customers and business colleagues.

12 people found this helpful13 people found this helpful

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TheBuddies

Wonderful advice, easy format

January 26, 2016

Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

This book is a great teaching book that is an eye opener for someone building or thinking about building a business with the intent to sell it. Actually, my favorite part is that the fictional business in the book was run as a service company that was NOT ready to be sold, and they did the work to transform it into a product company that would fetch the most money.

Not only does it very effectively demonstrate what to do VS what you shouldn't do, it shows that you can always implement these types of changes to make sure you're more prepared to sell and at the same time make your company more successful.

I also really enjoyed the way it was written, it was WAY more engaging and relatable than one of those books that just goes on and on about A-Z steps to take for your business. This actually sunk in, and showed real life application and advice all while in a fictional story! A must read for anyone looking to build a company and sell it.

6 people found this helpful7 people found this helpful

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J. Westcott

All Business Owners NEED to READ!

February 8, 2018

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

This book is simply outstanding! If you own a business, no matter what size, this book is an excellent read. Truly eye opening to me!!

It is super important to think strategically and start planning early for your exit. If your exit strategy is to liquidate assets and close up shop, then you don’t really need to read this book. However, if you want to sell your business and not just close your doors, then you’ve got to craft a plan and start early!!

Some key take always:

If you intend to put your business up for sale or position it to be acquired someday, you CAN NOT be the sole reason for the success of your business! If the success or failure is strictly dependent upon you and/or your partner working with your customers, then your sales multiple will be strongly discounted and you will earn a lot less at closing than is possible!! You need a strong management and sales team in place and you need a system for getting things done that is NOT reliant on YOU personally. You need to develop a specialty - being a jack of all trades, but master of none is NOT a recipe for success!

You really need to read this book! It's an easy read...very engaging and easy to understand. Written in a very conversational tone and just makes SENSE!

One person found this helpful2 people found this helpful

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Mark Cabato

Begin with the End in Mind

July 1, 2017

Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

Reading the title reminds me of Steven Covey's 2 Habit which applies equally well when starting a business. Prior to reading this book, I was already seriously considering a start-up with the intent to prove a concept, build a minimum viable product, and eventually sell within 10 years (assuming I succeed). I have always been a strategic person on the job, technically proficient, with solid organizational and communication skills. However, I have always been a self-starter, do-it-yourself person. I have learned over time to be more of a leader and to delegate more effectively than my early years on the job. In preparing to embark in this new venture, I found myself drifting back to that do-it-all- myself mentality focusing heavily on how and what I will be doing to run the business not realizing I was positioning myself as the business. While I may have the right vision, the appropriate solution to a customer pain point, if I want an exit eventually, I need to put the right team together, lead more, manage less and think about growing a business that can grow without me. Highly recommend. It changed my thinking and approach to my own potential start-up. The storytelling is engaging and reinforced these lessons in an effective and entertaining manner.

2 people found this helpful3 people found this helpful

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Red Foot Rusty

A must read for small business owners!

July 17, 2016

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

This book is excellent for the small business owner. As a small subcontractor in the construction industry, I have employed the strategies in this book, some of them with great reservations, especially the hiring of a sales force which is something I have never done in 15 years in business. However, although it has been employed with a tight budget for the past 6 months, the effects of the strategies in this book are indeed starting to show up. I wish I had this book back in 2005 when I was offered $3.1 million for my company and decided to hold out for more. With the 2008 housing market crash, my company crashed with it and became essentially worthless from a sellable standpoint. After a complete rebranding last year and implementing the methods used in this book, we are now looked up to as the leading company in our niche industry and have even ran one competitor completely out of town just by doing business the right way. I highly recommend this one.

One person found this helpful2 people found this helpful

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