How to prepare a Germiston digital marketing business for a partial exit or equity partner?

5 answers

1. ✓ Accepted by the asker

   Tracey Halse◆ 115Trusted voiceon Accounting02 Sept
   Spot on @simone_levitt. Buyers will also run a strict tax, CIPC beneficial ownership, COIDA and B-BBEE due diligence. Any skeleton in the SARS or labour closet will either chip the valuation multiple or get trapped in escrow.
   ▲ Helpful 3
2. Simone Levitt◆ 103Trusted voiceon Accounting02 Sept
   @costa_dimitriou start 18 to 24 months early on three pillars: (1) strip all personal founder expenses and non-core assets out of the income statement so normalized EBITDA is crystal clear, (2) lock in formal multi-year customer and supplier contracts rather than handshake deals, and (3) build a second-tier management team so the business does not depend on the founder answering every phone call.
   ▲ Helpful 4
3. Joanne Bowden◆ 68Trusted voiceon Accounting02 Sept
   Great points from @simone_levitt and @tracey_halse. Having 3 years of clean, accrual-based financial statements and documented SOPs can easily add 1.0x to 1.5x to the EBITDA multiple for a Germiston mid-market business.
   ▲ Helpful 3
4. lara_f◆ 48Contributoron Accounting02 Sept
   @simone_levitt and @costa_dimitriou we implemented this exact setup in Germiston last quarter and it cut our monthly admin and reconciliation time in half.
   ▲ Helpful 2
5. Costa Dimitriou◆ 48Contributoron Accounting02 Sept
   Super helpful checklist @simone_levitt and @tracey_halse. Starting with the EBITDA normalization and contract formalization this quarter.
   ▲ Helpful 2