When a business owner contemplates how to market a small business, they often consider fast strike projects that will improve efficiency and, as a result, business valuation.  You may not have the time, cash or will for a massive tasks like enterprise-wide business process re-engineering project that encompasses big teams and sophisticated software.  Instead, think about scaled-down scale, targeted workflow advancements to improve business efficiency and worth.

First, a few terms to evaluation.  A company process is a coordinated set of actions that produce a business result, and business process mapping is documenting them.  An example process will be opening a client account or creating a purchase order.  The mapping goal is to capture how the different parts of an organization perform together to serve customers.

The result is a procedure map, or perhaps a visible representation of a procedure that displays inputs, outputs, tasks carried out, and job sequence.  There is quite a set of nomenclature and equipment around this, but do not be put off.  For very simple and small tasks, we have utilized post-it notes and a very large wall.

When initially launching a work flow enhancement work, you should select which work flows to redesign.  Just a few items to consider include when making that decision:

• Follow the money… Which operations are necessary in generating revenue? Which use a higher level of means where price reduction opportunities might exist? What procedure brings one of the most value to the client.
• Where would be the difficulties? What process or organization seems to cause one of the most difficulties? Where is there a strong quality enhancement require? Which of those processes seem to have the highest effect?
• Where can technology make a significant procedure improvement?
• Which processes cross the most organizations within the business?
• What enhancement would possess the greatest positive effect on selling the company and its business valuation?

Process mapping has become a crucial company analysis and high quality enhancement tool.  It builds an understanding of the procedure as it is presently carried out, then identify gaps, dangers, and opportunities to boost it.  At a high degree, we are asking the basic queries:

• What is happening?
• When it is happening?
• Who is doing it?
• Where it is happening?
• How long does it take?
• How is it being carried out?
• Why is it being done?

                                            
It is via seeing a visual representation of complex actions that we can discover ways to streamline work circulation and enhance business performance.  Once you see it, you can work on it.

There are many components to capture when mapping and redesigning workflows:

1. The process objective and owner.
2. Inputs – what is coming to the process
3. Organization – is there a structure from the process
4. Operations – what group of activities to consider to send and receive of scope, and what individuals activities are
5. People – the roles and responsibilities of individuals involved in the operation
6. Items – what is being processed (products, customers, patients)
7. Outputs – what is taken from the system
8. Outcomes – the impact of the outputs
9. Feedback – constant information on how one does

Fast pointers include organizing around outputs, not duties, functions or items.  Design operations for simultaneous processing and link actions in real time.  Capture all critical information as soon as and at the source.  Think about including the client in the operation enhancement effort.

As you document the processes, maintain an issues list of problems, and opportunities for positive change.  After you have the current processes documented, you will be ready to review how to improve them.  As you evaluation the visuals and also the problems checklist, some changes might be obvious.  Other thought provoking questions to think about are:

 

1. Are there greatest practices we should be thinking about?
2. Is there a technology that could make a dramatic enhancement and or would carry out best practices?
3. If time, cash, labor, technology, along with other resources have been not really a problem, what would the perfect process look like?  What will be the barriers and dangers to implementing it, and how could they be mitigated?
4. What in the act is considered high value or a differentiator by the marketplace and by a potential purchaser?
5. What do we consider to be our core competency?  What can we outsource?

Although this is a brutally brief overview of procedure enhancement, it ought to demystify it for you.  Small procedure advancements could be quick strike projects that can enhance the performance and valuation of your personal group while you move to sell a small business.

I invite you to use these suggestions during your journey to sell a small business.

Marian Cook is a highly sought after business transition expert and speaker with over 25 years experience helping business owners design their best-life exit strategy, and improve their business performance and valuation.  She is the co-author of “Selling Your Business For More:  Maximizing Returns For You, Your Family and Your Business” (published by Macmillan).  If you are ready to sell a business and jump-start your business sale process, connect with Marian via her free tips, articles, checklists and blog at Business Transition Experts.