We worked with a small retail company with one owner-director to help grow his business. Before we started working on his business goals with him he asked us to advise on the tax implications of selling his business to another company. We knew him fairly well as he had been a client for a number of years, mainly in terms of compliance services like tax and accounting.
On meeting to discuss his plans we noticed a slight reluctance on his part in relation to the proposed sale, so we asked him why he was selling. After some discussion, it was clear that his reason for selling was a fear of running out of cash. We carried out some calculations there and then and worked out he needed an additional £10,000 to overcome a small temporary cash-flow problem. Fear had stopped him seeing clearly what the issue was. We contacted his bank manager and arranged a 6-month increase in his overdraft to solve the problem.
We then introduced him to our business development services to help him achieve his business goals.
This is a typical story of how owners of small businesses often need another viewpoint from someone who is not so emotionally tied up with the business and who has the financial, inter-personal and strategic planning skills to guide them in the right direction.
