Posted on October 24, 2009 - by Janice

Solopreneurs: What’s your end game.

Apologies everyone. I’ve been organizing a trip so I’m a bit delinquent in delivering a solopreneur post. But, better late than never. Here you go…

In ’98, my husband and I sold our business. What we actually sold was a database and a name — our customer list and goodwill. That’s it. They got no computers, buildings or products. It was an interesting, sometimes painful but ultimately financially rewarding process. It was our end game from the start. What’s yours?

Getting to your end game?
We all have to eat. Making money, generating cash flow and, hopefully a profit, is necessary. But it is also important to keep your eye on your ultimate goal. To really win at business, you need to know how you define winning in the end. There are many possibilities. Here’s a few,  I’m sure you can come up with more…

What’s equity and where is it?
Equity is the value in your business without you in it. This can be determined by a business valuator or by the market –- sales of similar companies is a good indicator. Of course, prospective buyers are always happy to tell you what it’s worth as well.

Understanding where your equity lies is important because then you can grow it. Growing your equity is good for selling the business and for financing the business. If you don’t want to sell but you do want investment for growth, growing equity is critical.

So, where is your equity. Is it in your database and your brand as it was for our trade show company? Is it in products you own, digital or otherwise? Trademarks and copyrights?

Take your business apart and see what people might buy. If there isn’t anything, which can happen to solopreneurs who only sell their hours, see whether you can develop something. Determine whether , just by operating your business a bit differently, you can create equity. It will pay off in the long run.