How Businesses Are Acquired and How Spreadsheets Help

I recently asked business owners how they became business owners. Did they inherit the business, buy an established business, get promoted to the head position, or simply start a business from scratch? Here’s what they said.

As you can see, the vast majority simply started a business from scratch. This often poses a problem, because you have to decide on the processes and tools being used, which will affect all aspects of the business. If you acquired your business one of the other ways mentioned, then there are other hassles. Here are things to look out for in each, and how a custom spreadsheet can help in each case.

Started from scratch

You have to do it all, and you often have to do it all at once, so this can be stressful. A custom spreadsheet can help you to focus, as it can lay out your processes, and produce reports from your data, which will make you productive and give you added insight (read this post for more about this). It is often easier to get the right spreadsheet, as you can get this made for your business. You haven’t inherited someone else’s error-ridden spreadsheet which doesn’t fit your plan. Yes, you may need to use something standard in the meantime but getting some key spreadsheets custom made as soon as you can, will help you. Starting a business form scratch is hard work, I know, but the spreadsheets I made for myself really kept me on track. They helped me to spend time on important things, and it kept me efficient with my time and effort.

Bought a franchise

If you buy a franchise, you won’t need spreadsheets, because they’ll give you what you need. Right? Wrong. I have had many franchise owners come to me for custom spreadsheets to manage parts of the process that the franchise owner is either unaware of, or not concerned about. My experiences of franchises are that they want money and are not really that concerned about how you are doing. I’m sure there are many that are good, but that does not apply to all of them. You will still need to take responsibility for your business.

Bought an existing business

Although you may have bought the systems and processes, it does not mean that they are correct. 90% of the spreadsheet I make for businesses are simply to replace existing ones that are outdated or not up to scratch. My guess is that if you have bought a business, the previous owner has probably not kept it as efficient as possible, so you need to make sure that all the spreadsheets are as good as they can be. Also, your process and desires may differ from the last owner, so getting these made for you is key.

Moved up the ranks

Congratulations on being promoted to the top. You should have a good idea of what is wrong with the company, and you probably know which spreadsheets have given you hassles. Now is the time to change them and make them more efficient. All those things that irritated you on the way up, are now your responsibility to fix.

Conclusion

So, there you have it. 4 ways which people become business owners. However, you have found yourself in charge, it is your responsibility to make the business as efficient as possible, to make the staff as productive as possible, and to understand what is going on. The right custom-made spreadsheet can do all this and more. If you’re unable to make such spreadsheets, or simply can’t afford to waste this time, I am here when you need me.