Are You Building To Last OR Building to Sell?
…is one better than other
Goal: Show how the two ideas of building and selling complement each other and why
The title of this column references two great books. This is key to notice BUT there is more to a business than either extreme.
If you are building a business to last then you are building something that you hope would exist many years after you. What percentage of firms today existed 100 years ago? Probably less than 1%.
Jim Collins wrote an excellent book that deep dives in the characteristics of the businesses that do last. Three ideas that are key from the book are:
- A great company does not necessarily start with a great idea.
- A company needs a core ideology in order to be visionary.
- Don’t be surprised if your visionary company feels like a cult.
From build to sell one will learn that
- If you specialize in one service, you will be more successful in business.
- You as a founder need to work to make sure that you’re replaceable. If you are replaceable, one day you might be able to sell your company.
- Diversify your customer base in order to minimize risk. Having a single big client is risky and makes your business less attractive to buyers.
I do not see the key concepts as being either or. They complete each other. If you are creating a company/product you should want to create something that last for a long time. BUT it is doubtful that you will live for 100 years of its existence so be prepared as if you will sell at any time.
Notice that for the business to be sellable, you as the key person AND your key customers must be replicable. The key is AND not OR relationship.
The reality is that in the past, businesses were passed down from generation to generation. I recently heard that most youngsters are not interested in the business that their parent or grandparent created. Maybe they are too old style and not as sexy?
So you better be able to create something good and while it is good create systems that will make it last a while, look for opportunities to be replaced internally and periodically trimming current and growing your customer base.
Notice the picture is of a person at the top of a hill with a beautiful view. The only way to get to that hill of success is to work hard BUT eventually allow someone to take over so that you can enjoy your life. It should not be a constant grind.
My sixteen cents….(this is what I earned from Medium.com for Jan. 2021)
I got to go…my future self alarm went off
PRODUCT LIST 2021
My first product of the year is the t-shirt with a circle. It can be purchased at
https://teespring.com/be-adaptive?pid=212&cid=5819
My second product is MyLin app. It can be viewed following the link below:
My Third product is a clean design T-shirt available on Amazon:
