|
Is merging two companies a good idea when they are family owned and operated?
My dad owns a tree service. He's been in business for more than 25 years but doesn't do much advertising. I would like to help grow his business while building my own lawn and landscape business. Is merging the two companies a good idea? Is there anything I should do as a 24-year-old female to better my chances of growing quickly?
|
|
|
A better strategy would be to build each separately . . . and if successful, look to merge them at a later date. Ice cream kings Baskin and Robbins did exactly that years ago, and the merger worked because each learned what it took to run a successful business day-to-day.
To better yourself, immerse yourself in learning about business. There's a high correlation between business success and business knowledge . . . and most unsuccessful owners either don't know what they don't know or fail to apply key knowledge to their operations.
That said, becoming an expert marketer could help both enterprises. If your father has been in business and survived for more than two decades, how can you use his current customer base to leverage your own landscape business? And what can he do with his current customer base to get additional business and/or customers? What would a good marketing campaign do to generate more leads? What would a 10 percent rise in his price points do for his bottom line? How would a 10 percent increase in his profit margin affect his overall profit?
Answer those questions for his business, and you will have a better idea how to answer the same questions for yours.
There are a lot of ways to get where you want to go. Just be sure you equip yourself with the best information you can. And while it may be tempting to go the merger route, it is better at this point to think in terms of niches for both companies--and work on making each successful in its own right.
All the best.
Brad Sugars
Brad Sugars is the founder of ActionCOACH, a business coaching franchise. As a world-renowned entrepreneur, author and business coach, he has helped more than a million clients around the world find business and personal success. Sugars has owned and operated more than two dozen companies including his main company, ActionCOACH, which has nearly 1,000 offices in 22 countries.
|
More Questions from Business Operations
 Recent Articles & Resources
Insight from Business Experts
Leadership In Troubled Times
I have something of a rant in me - and it has to do with politics. But this isn't a partisan rant, it's a rant about leadership in troubled times.
Like all of you I've been riveted by the unfolding financial crisis - as have my employees, all 86 of ...
Ten Steps to Successful Online Book Marketing
Marketing your book online is both rewarding and challenging. It’s rewarding because much of what you can do online is either free or low cost. Knowing what to do and in what order is the challenging part.
There is a method to marketing your book online that you'll need to follow ...
Some Quick Tips For Small Businesses In This Financial Crisis
The best advice I ever heard was when a wise person said to me the time to evaluate your business cost and cash position is not when times are tough but when times are good. Even so, most people don't do that. However, there are many things a business ...
Venture Capital: Hurt By The Credit Crisis?
Recently, there has been some discussion about whether the credit crisis is helping or hurting venture capitalists.
The argument that it is helping holds that the credit crisis has made returns from venture capital investments more favorable than returns from other types of private equity. The high returns to private equity ...
|
|
