We were engaged by the wife of the founder of a company to sell the business several years after her husband had passed away. The wife had no direct experience in the millwright business but fortunately had been involved with the bookkeeping and payroll, so was comfortable keeping the business running short term.
Unfortunately, the business environment changed rapidly with new tariffs, uncertainty, disgruntled staff and lawsuits. It was a very unstable environment and needed decisive leadership to manage but the lack of responsiveness to these challenges had serious negative impacts on the business results and frightened many potential buyers away.
Through regular discussions with the owner, a creative solution to this predicament was crafted and to attract a potential business partner. This partner will be able to provide leadership and sales support for a fee initially and move towards purchasing a portion of the business at a reduced valuation once their confidence improves. The remaining portion of the business will be purchased on a readjusted value calculation providing the seller with an improved price based on future results.
Creativity is key to dealing with transition challenges.