This book started out as an idea for a column I used to write for a local business weekly. The story was how to build a $100-million business—and then sell it. One hundred million dollars was the perfect figure. It may sound out of reach, but it refers to the gross revenues of a successful medium-sized business. And that would be the readers’ goal: start a company, grow it the right way and make sure you have built something people want to buy.

The key is that second part, creating a business—from the very start—that will sell. It’s THE critical component business owners too often neglect on their path to growth. Sure, building a $100-million company is a lofty ambition in its own right. But by not planning for the eventual sale, you’re missing out on what makes a company really valuable—the ultimate payday. The goal of selling your business should figure into almost every decision you make, from the paperwork that creates your company to the people you hire to the products and services you sell. The mantra is “build to sell.”

Now you might ask:  What does this Jack Garson know about building and selling businesses?

That is a fair question.

In short, the answer is that I have the insider’s view on what works and what doesn’t.  Even when I wasn’t the quarterback, I was in the huddle. 

Sure, I have taken my share of companies from birth to sale.  But it’s more than that.  My involvement starts with the legal work I do for my clients.   Over time, they come to trust me because I’m able to help them with their businesses, especially when I’m successful on a “bet-the-company” legal matter. After that, they pick my brain on all manner of business issues, relying on me more and more.  “What do you think of this, what do you think of that,” the questions come, along with, “Hey, can you come to this meeting we’re having?”  Eventually I’m involved in almost every major aspect of their companies, from the deals to the disputes, the hiring and firing and, yes, ultimately, the building and selling.

As many questions as the clients ask, I ask more. I thrive on learning everything about my clients’ companies. (I’ve loved business ever since I was a little kid, shoveling snow, delivering newspapers and cutting lawns.)  If I don’t understand, I ask.  So I probe, prod and challenge. I’m afforded the rare view from inside the cockpit of many companies. It’s really the only place you can really see what works and what doesn’t. Why do some people build one successful project after another, while others file for bankruptcy? Why does one restaurant work and another fail? Why does one software geek shelter-in-place in his mother’s basement while the other sells her company for a $100 million? I’m not the judge.  I’m the score-keeper.  I see what works and what doesn’t.

Here’s a classic example. In small business, if you’re an absentee owner, your business will fail most of the time. The reason: when it comes to a small company, the guy or gal running the show needs to be passionately committed to the operation of the business.  You’re too small to afford a strong executive team and you can’t phone it in from some beach in Miami. You gotta be there yourself. That’s why big companies like McDonalds insist that their franchise owners are on the job, working the fryer and then running the cash register.  You gotta be there when you have a small business. Try it from afar and half your inventory walks out the back door and dissatisfied customers walk out the front door.

Another insight: The number one reason businesses fail is lack of capital.  This is no urban legend.  Yet too many people are impatient. They start their businesses before they’ve saved enough money. They spend their last dime launching their business, hoping that so many people will show up at the grand opening they’ll have the money to pay the rent, electricity and employees. They don’t accept the fact that they need a financial cushion and, without it, one tiny hiccup can put them out of business. Worse, when they run out of money, they’re at the mercy of vultures. An investor might insist on half of the company for a token amount of cash.  They might have to accept that raw deal just to keep the dream alive. Or they may have to lick their wounds and sell out entirely or close up shop, usually at a severe loss.   If they really knew they were doomed to failure without enough start-up funds, they might have the motivation to wait until they raised enough cash.

The understanding that you need enough money when you start a business is part of a larger theme.  When you are going into business for the first time—or for the first time successfully—you often don’t know what you don’t know.  From my perspective, it’s as if you’re drowning in the ocean because no one told you that you’re supposed to move your arms and legs.  I see all these sinking businesses, and want to show them how to swim. There is a right and a wrong way to build and sell your business.  The rules may not guarantee success, but they’ll dramatically improve your odds. That’s what drove me to write that article.  I want to share those insights.

My journey also reminds me of another rule of business success: Persistence. That local paper didn’t like the article.  It was the only one of dozens I’ve ever had rejected.  So I pitched the idea to a national publisher—who loved it as a book. 

So now you have a choice. You can spend 20 or 30 years getting knocked around in business.  After a few failures, maybe a bankruptcy or a divorce, you’ll likely know it all.  Or you can read this book—it’s all the lessons from my work as a lawyer and years as a business strategist, advisor and confidant. You’ll discover the importance of scalability and sustainability, find out why you must have a competitive edge, identify and overcome the Founders’ Dilemma, redouble your persistence and see what else it takes to succeed.  Learn from the mistakes and successes of others.

Are you ready to swim?

Jack Garson