500 questions to ask before starting, selling or investing in business
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$14.95
$14.95
This book is written for people who are considering starting, selling or investing in a business.
It's easy to forget to ask even the most obvious questions, which in worst case scenarios can lead to bad decision making. So here you go: 500 questions that you should not forget to ask when starting, selling or investing in a business!
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Table of content and examples of questions in each chapter:
- Introduction
- Questions To Ask Yourself Before Starting A Business
- Are you willing to put in long hours?
- Are your family supportive about this decision?
- Can you adapt to change?
- What are you hoping to achieve?
- Questions To Ask Yourself Before Investing In A Business
- How does this fit with your overall investment plan?
- What is your investment time frame?
- What are your goals with this investment?
- How often (and how much) will you be making financial contributions?
- Questions To Ask Yourself Before Selling Your Business The Big Picture
- Do you have a sales strategy?
- How much of the business are you willing to sell?
- What is your business worth and what valuation are you selling at?
- Is the price of the business fixed or negotiable?
- Big picture
- How would you explain the business in in 15 words or less?
- In short, how does the business make money?
- Is it an established business or just an idea?
- Is there an established turnover?
- How does the business differentiate itself?
- Strategy
- Does the business have a clear and defined strategy?
- Has the strategy been put into writing?
- How long has this strategy been in place?
- What are the main strategic goals? Eg. Expansion, Market entry, Product launch
- Vision And Mission
- What is the vision?
- Is the business capable of reaching its vision?
- Where should the business be in 5 years?
- What does the business want to achieve over the next 5-10 years (goals)?
- What will the business look like once its goals are achieved?
- Founders, Owners And Key Personnel
- Who are the current owners and what are their backgrounds (profiles)?
- What are the owners core competencies?
- Are the owners also the founders?
- Are the owners running the business?
- Product And Services
- What is the main product that the business is selling?
- What product generate most revenue?
- What are the highest, lowest and average profit margins on the products sold?
- What are the best selling products?
- Customers
- Who is the business's primary customer and what does their profile look like?
- How does the business segment their customer?
- What new customers would the business like to have?
- Competitors
- How many competitors are there in the market?
- Has the business made a list of competitors?
- Which of them poses the biggest threat?
- What are the trends among competitors?
- Customer Service
- How is customer service today and what is the aim for it to be in the future?
- What does the customer service team look like and how many people does it consist of?
- How high is customer services prioritized (and why)?
- What are the top 5 typical questions asked to your customer service team?
- Market Analysis
- How is the market defined?
- Who has conducted the market analysis?
- How big is the market (customers and/or $)?
- What other products/ services might customers be interested in buying from the business?
- Marketing And Sales
- How does the business market itself?
- What marketing initiatives have been tried?
- What marketing initiatives work?
- What marketing initiatives work the best?
- How much does it cost to acquire a customer?
- Financial Information
- Can the business supply historical income statements?
- Can the business supply historical balance sheets?
- Can the business supply historical cash flow documents?
- Human Resources
- Can the business provide a current organizational chart?
- If the business is expanding how would a future organizational chart look like?
- Are there charts describing the organization in the past?
- Can the business supply biographies of senior management (including employment history, age, service, years in current position etc.)?
- Legal Matters
- Does the business currently have any legal disputes against it?
- Does the business expect to receive any legal disputes against it?
- Has the business started any disputes against others?
- Partnerships
- What/ who are the business’s most important partnerships?
- What does the business do to keep good relationship with its most important partners?
- Has the business ever terminated any partnerships - and why?
- Investors And Funding
- Is the business on the lookout for an investor?
- Does the business any have current investors onboard?
- Has the business ever been declined by investors?
- Assets
- What assets does the business own?
- Does the business own any properties?
- Has office equipment (computers, desks. etc.) been leased or purchased?
- Capital Structure
- Is the business established as a legal entity?
- Are there any subsidiary companies?
- Has the business ever been through any debt restructuring plans?
- Has the business issued any options to anyone?
- Technology Used
- Does the business have the proper technology to support its vision?
- What software does the business use in its the daily operations?
- How is the business using technology to keep track of its key performance indicators?
- Are the current technology applications state-of-the-art?
- Future Growth
- Is the business being navigated by a clear set of goals (see Vision and Mission-chapter)?
- What is holding the business back in order to reach those goals?
- What will it take to launch in a new market? (i.e. new city, state or country)
- Exit Strategy
- In short, what is the exit strategy (if any)?
- Do all shareholders agree to the terms of the exit strategy?
- Who could the potential buyers be?
- Other Miscellaneous Questions
- What parts of the business have been outsourced?
- In what order does the business prioritize its shareholders, employees and customers?
- Are there any conflicts of interest? Eg. Former employment or affiliation?
- How does the business spur innovation?
- Documentation For Execution
- Business plan
- A detailed budget
- Letters of current debts
- Current credits
- Current and past guarantees