Case Studies

• Wholesale Distributor
• Specialty Printing Company
• e-Learning Tools / Consulting
• Steel Construction Company
• Copywriting, Branding, Messaging Firm
• Specialty Transport Company

Case Study: Wholesale Distributor

In business 25+ years. Founder had been deceased for 7 years. Founder’s widow had moved a senior salesman into the CEO position.

Goal: To prepare company for future ownership transition.

What we Discovered:

• The company had broad diversification of customers and vendors
• $6MM inventory plus $2MM in unbooked inventory
• CEO’s compensation was tied to gross revenues
• Net income was $50,000
• The company was borrowing to pay dividends
• A cash flow statement had not been prepared by accountant in 5 years
• Net income had declined over the last 4 years while inventory was rising
• Inactive shareholders were not schooled about how to read financial statements and thought the company was performing well
• CEO thought the company was worth $5MM
• There was no plan in place to develop new markets
• Salespeople were order takers
• There were 2 locations 
• Warehouse was far larger than needed
• Poor condition of financials made it difficult for business valautions person to prepare the valuation

 What we did/recomnmended:

• Obtained a business valuation
• Restructured CEO compensation to be tied to profitability
• Developed a plan to reduce inventory and institute just-in-time delivery
• Directed the accountant to produce complete financial statements
• Developed a process to educate shareholders about company activities and performance
• Developed a business plan to grow enterprise value and profitability
• Established an effective sales management system
• Established quarterly meetings hosted by BWS to keep company performance on track

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Case Study: Specialty Printing Company

Company was acquired 5 years ago from the previous owner

Goal: To exit in 8 years

What we Discovered:

• Owners excelled at operations
• Owners desired to acquire an out-of–state company in order to increase revenues. The potential acquisition had poor financial record keeping and had no management once the current owner of the acquired company was gone
• Company had only 60% utilization of its current plant
• There were major tax issues as a result of poor tax planning when the stock of the company was acquired resulting in unreported tax liabilities
• Shareholders had no estate planning, no personal financial plan, no idea what the company had to sell for in order for them to continue their current lifestyle, no business continuation plan, an unrealistic strategic plan, and did not know the value of the business

What we did:

• Otained a business valuation
• Developed a written strategic business plan
• Pared down the product offerings after the business plan revealed the most profitable products
• Expanded channel marketing
• Showed owners how to grow current operation and utilize the unused 40% of floor space rather than acquire another company
• Developed a plan to increase 100% utilization of existing floor space 
• Introduced owners to a financial advisor who developed a comprehensive financial plan
• Prepared an analysis of feasible exit strategies which resulted in the owners' decision that a third party sale was the best option
• Prepared an after-tax, after-fees analysis from the future sale of the business and provided that to the financial planner to include in her retirement plan analysis
• Introduced the owners to an estate planning and business planning attorney who developed a complete estate plan and a contingency plan for the business
• Developed a plan that made it possible for the shareholders to leave 3 years sooner than anticipated and for more money

Results:

• Revenues have increased significantly
• The company is performing very well even in the current economy
• Shareholders recently completed a strategic acquisition using the business plan developed by BWS to guide them.

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Case Study: e-Learning Tools / Consulting

Company was five years old and growing very rapidly. One key person was a sibling of the President and founder.

Goal: Create a strategic business plan and a 10 year ownership transition plan

What we Discovered:

• Company had three organizational charts, none of which functioned very well
• Company had 15 services and product lines
• Several key people and staff were ill-chosen and were inappropriately and overly-compensated
• Job titles and duties were not clearly defined
• Owner's management skills created a chaotic work environment 
• Company contingency plan was ill-conceived
• Owner had no personal wealth advisor and an incomplete estate plan
• Owner had no idea what the company was worth
• Record keeping was in poor condition and tax planning was inadequate

What we did:

• Obtained a business valuation
• Decreased the product and services offerings to five (which made the sales people very happy)
• Re-configured the organizational chart to be more realistic, more manageable, and one that would grow as the company grew
• Designed executive performance and (funded) cost-efficient retention plans
• Identified new markets, helped the founder replace staff and key people, and developed a comprehensive and workable strategic plan
• Introduced the owner to sources of funds for working capital
• Introduced the owner to an accounting firm that is more appropriate for the company’s needs
• In the process of introducing the owner to a personal wealth advisor and an estate planning attorney

Results:

• Revenues are good, morale is high, the prognosis for the company hitting the targeted goal of $20MM in revenues by 2017, or sooner, is excellent
• Owner’s stress level has reduced 

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Case Study: Steel Construction Company

5 year old company run by its founder. Three family members are shareholders.

Goal: Prepare for ownership transition within 3 years and plan their next business venture

What we Discovered:

• Inadequate record keeping and tax-planning strategies that would likely fail an IRS audit and not pass a buyer’s due diligence
• Owners wanted and needed a personal financial plan with a clear idea about what their future financial needs were
• Owners had no idea what the business was worth
• Owners wanted to know what they would need to net from the sale of the current business to start a new business
• Key people were 1099 workers

What we did:

• Obtained a business valuation which revealed that the company had only a liquidation value
• Introduced the client to a financial planner who prepared a detailed financial plan that revealed both risks and opportunities. The client is still implementing the advisor’s recommendations
• Identified feasible exit strategies and helped the owners decide on their best option
• Prepared an after-tax, after-fees analysis of the likely proceeds from the sale of the business and provided the analysis to the financial advisor to include in her retirement plan analysis
• Wrote a strategic business plan for the construction business including a strategy to develop a new service to cross-sell with the existing construction business
• Wrote a feasibility study for the proposed new business that the owner will start in a few years after the current business is acquired
• Supervised re-entry of financial data in GAAP format and developed more appropriate tax planning strategies

Results:

• Owners have received financing for the building for their growing business
• The financial records have been cleaned up 
• Company is performing very well despite the current economic environment and the owners are on track to start their new business in about three years as planned

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Case Study: Copywriting, Branding, Messaging Firm

In business 5+ years. Recipient of numerous awards. Leader in their field.

Goal: Grow revenues and prepare to leave the business in 7 years so that the net proceeds would largely fund the owner’s retirement

What we Discovered:

• The owner did not know what the business was worth
• The owner had a relationship with a respected financial advisor who provided invaluable information about the client’s personal financial needs
• The owner had little or no estate planning
• There was not a strategic plan for the company
• The owner did not know how to track company performance on an on-going basis
• There was no saless system in place
• There was no marketing plan in place

What we did:

• Obtained a business valuation
• Prepared an analysis of the most likely exit options and helped the owner identify the best option
• Prepared the after-tax, after-fees sales proceeds calculations and provided them to the financial advisor who re-calculated the retirement plan projections. They indicated that there was a significant gap between what the owner needed to net after the sale to meet personal goals and what would be realized
• We developed a strategic business plan to show the owner how to meet the stated goals
• We developed a key person retention plan, contingency plan, estate plan, and dashboards to help the owner efficiently track company performance
• We helped the owner create a job description for a salesperson and assisted in the interviewing and hiring process

Results:

• The sales person is identifying new business in the company's stated target market
• The company is performing very well even in this economic downturn and the owner is on track to reach the targeted financial goals.

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Case Study: Specialty Transport Company

The company had been in business for 25+ years and employed 4 family members

Goal: Grow the company and develop initiatives that create several exit options for the future

What we Discovered:

• Less than transparent financial record-keeping
• Major tax planning issues
• Unrealistic view of value
• No personal wealth planning
• Incomplete estate plan
• No sales management system in place
• No marketing plan
• No strategic direction
• No contingency plan in the event of the owners’ death or incapacitation
• Needed to build out management team and create key person retention plans
• Poor financial performance indicated by financial records
• Lifestyle that exceeded ability to provide for after ownership transition, based on information from personal and company financials 

What we did/recommended:

• Obtained a business valuation
• Analyzed shareholder’s best ownership transition options
• Prepared a tax analysis and net proceeds analysis of the most feasible exit options 
• Prepared a value enhancement analysis, identifying areas with the greatest cost-benefit results
• Introduced the client to a respected wealth advisory firm
• Recommended they meet with their current estate planning attorney to develop a complete estate plan
• Recommended that a business plan, including a marketing plan be developed
• Recommended that a business contingency plan be developed
• Recommended that a sales management system be established
• Recommended that financial records be cleaned up
• Recommended that client retain a tax planner
• Identified professionals to advise client in all of the above areas

Results:

• We are in the process of helping the client implement the above recommendations. The company is performing exceptionally well in this challenging economy.

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