What Peyton Manning and the Colts Saga Can Teach Us About Business Value
By Michael Weihl- M and A Advisor and Exit and Growth Strategist at ComBiz Miami
Imagine I am a genie and I have granted you ownership of your own professional football team. For many of us business owners this is the ultimate fantasy, coveted even more so than actually becoming a professional player. But before you dream of hoisting the Lombardi trophy in a champagne soaked suit, my wish comes with two challenges for you. First, the team you own is the Indianapolis Colts, the worst team in football, and second you can only own the team for two to five years. I will however, allow you to keep all the proceeds from the sale.
Depending upon the way events unfold in the next few months the value of the Colt’s franchise could change dramatically. Obviously we don’t get to live in the realm of fantasy but there are many parallels and lessons to be learned for todays business owners. These parallels contain critical strategic elements that will determine the value and continued success of their organization. In our capacity as experts in facilitating sales and exits for business owners we analyze over fifty key factors that drive the value of a business. This article will focus on a few relevant comparisons and the four phases of our exit strategy process necessary to maximize qualitative and quantitative business value for owners.
1.
Decide-The Colts have some important decisions to make regarding the future strategy and makeup of their team. Do they keep Peyton and trade their #1 pick for players and other draft picks for a win now strategy, release him and draft star prospect Andrew Luck and rebuild, or try and keep both.
-While most business owners may not appear to have a similar scenario, many are at a crossroads in their business. Do they implement a new strategy in the product or service they offer, or make changes in the leadership positions of key personnel? If they are anticipating an exit or transfer they need to decide to whom they wish to transfer, when, and for how much.
Owners must have a clear understanding of their objectives to properly decide their future direction.
2.
Discover-To make the proper decision on Peyton the Colts must attempt to overcome the uncertainty of key factors influencing their decision. Mainly how healthy is Peyton? How good is Andrew Luck? What are their trade options? How will the fan base react? This decision often requires outside expertise, team doctor, coaches, scouts, marketing analysts etc.
-Business owners face the need for similar analysis. How much is the company worth? How strong is my management? How much money do I need to retire? They also need trusted advisors to offer good counsel.
Discovering key quantitative and qualitative metrics is crucial for strategic decision-making, and requires expert advisors to help measure, and analyze what the critical factors are driving value.
3.
Design-(Recommendations to Protect and Grow)
Protect -The Colts had a terrible season but their recent history is laden with success including a not too distant Super Bowl Championship. The Colts miserable season is directly related to the unforeseen injury to their star quarterback Peyton Manning, and the lack of a quality replacement
-Many businesses also have a history of success but they are currently struggling in today’s current economy. Also many businesses are also deeply dependent on the talent of their owner or perhaps garner the majority of their sales from one customer.
When designing an action plan to maximize value it is important to understand that value is determined by the future of your business, not the past.If you have not developed protective measures to reduce future risk buyers will discount the purchase price accordingly.Grow- If you own the Colts and you decide to pursue the win now strategy that is certainly your prerogative, that’s one of the reasons you bought the team and maximizing the sale may not be your top priority.
-Likewise as a business owner you may make certain decisions such as reducinglong-term capital investments that maximize personal profits in the short term, but may be damaging to business value.
Growth is one of the major factors any buyer or appraiser uses in determining value. Action plans designed to capture this growth must be carefully developed to consider various options and consequences, preferably with the help of knowledgeable advisors.4.
Deliver–So what would you do? The Colts will make a decision by March 8, that is the deadline for a $28 million dollar option that allows them to keep Peyton. This decision will trigger various actions, drafting Luck or trading for others. How to market ticket sales, how much money to spend on what players, etc.…
-Likewise we owners eventually need to implement the game plans we have developed to make our company more valuable and meet their objectives for growth or transfer.
Most of us business owners have a great deal of our personal wealth tied up into the value of our business. While professional sports franchise owners generally are wealthy independent of their team ownership, most of the actual value of the team is only realized in a third party sale and not from yearly profits. Therefore the process of building value, timing the market, marketing to increase prospects, and negotiating a sale is too important and too complex to try and do without expert help.Please contact Michael Weihl at mweihl@comreal.com for a no obligation consultation to determine value enhancement or exit strategies for your company.
Michael Weihl Senior Associate
ComReal Miami, Inc.
2335 NW 107 Avenue, Suite #2M02, Box 126 Doral, FL 33172
T 786-433-2503 O 305-591-3044 X106
mweihl@comreal.com
www.combizmiami.com
