As a Board Advisor, Spitulnik Advisors will take an objective position to view your vision, operations, processes, strategies and questions for planning ahead. As we stated earlier, this can be on your formal board or just your personal advisor who is acting in a manner similar to what is expected of Board members. In this role, we can help you gain the focus and clarity your Board needs on issues such as:
However, this begs the question: How long is that going to take? 5 years? 10 years? 20 years?
Understanding that can push you toward buying a firm that already has all of these elements – from services to people to clients to markets – is a frequent conclusion that closely held businesses make.
However, coming to that decision is just the tip of the iceberg. You still need to think through the process of an acquisition carefully and deliberately so that it is a true success.
This is where Spitulnik Advisors can work with you to plan how you're going to handle the integration beyond the deal itself. How will you integrate your people, processes, culture and so forth so that you can move forward with momentum in this new era?
Don't manage and measure the progress of this transition on your own. Turn to Spitulnik Advisors to help you put the pieces of your long-term puzzle together – and then be there for you to maintain it.
Planning For A Divestiture
The lines of business you've been involved with are not permanent. Through changing conditions over time, you may discover one line of business is no longer profitable the way it once was. Perhaps the people and resources are no longer in-house. Or the competitive landscape has changed. Or, simply put, that particular line of business is solving a problem that the marketplace no longer has due to changing demographics or technologies.
Regardless of the circumstances leading up to a divestiture, it can be a very good thing to focus on the business units that are most aligned to where you want to be now and in the future, allowing for continued growth, rather than holding onto a unit out of reasons tied to legacy and not practicality.
Spitulnik Advisors can help you not only confirm your decision to divest but help you clarify all the essential components for a successful divestiture. But that's not all. We'll also be your close advisor on each step to field questions and address any last-minute concerns. For the expected and unexpected during this critical process, we'll be here, ready to help you move onward and upward.
Planning For A Partnership
When a partnership opportunity presents itself, it's easy to dream about the various possibilities for growth and profitability as well as how everything "on paper" looks good.
Then the actual execution of the partnership in the real world happens. Is it as rosy as it once appeared from the very beginning? Rarely. How could this have been prevented? And if it is to still go forward, how can the opportunity be maximized?
At Spitulnik Advisors, careful partnership planning consists of the definition of the immediate future to define how the working relationship will be. But just as importantly, what will that partnership look like when initial goals are reached? By the way, what ARE those goals? Are you in agreement of what comes next for the next year, five years, ten years? Do you envision an expansion sooner or an exit sooner? These and many others are the hard questions pre-partnership that we aren't afraid to ask in the boardroom. You'll thank us later because of it.
Bringing New Ideas, Opportunities And Shiny Objects To The Table
It's very easy for "the way we've always done it" thinking to settle in on a board. That's where Spitulnik Advisors can bring a fresh perspective that introduces new approaches and ideas to evaluate. In fact, as you're evaluating those options, don't be surprised that as you're pausing and reflecting that we'll come back with two or three other answers that we've arrived at that might be even better than our original thoughts. Building a planning process with Spitulnik Advisors will engage all of these various elements and as we form a consensus, we can lead the way in helping to build the recommendations into your company's strategic and operational plan.
Shiny Object Evaluation
"I hadn't thought about entering a new market, but everything I'm reading and hearing lately says we should pounce on the opportunity."
When you're going down the path of growth and scaling upward, inevitably, you're going to come across new opportunities of all shapes and sizes. And when it's The New and The Different, it all falls into the category of Shiny Object. However, Shiny Object Syndrome left unchecked can serve as a distraction if not evaluated properly in the context of your mission.
To prevent this from happening more often than it should, Spitulnik Advisors will assist you in thinking through, creating and refining a process for evaluating those opportunities. As a result, you'll have a go-to solution that you can use every time you need to review and make a decision on shiny objects.
Succession Planning
Boards will change and evolve over time, but if there's one issue that's not going to go away in a closely held and or family business, it's succession planning. It's a topic that we all know is out there and the sooner we approach it beyond the most pressing issues of the day, the better we'll be positioned for the future. Spitulnik Advisors has been involved in succession planning for businesses just like yours and frankly, not being family is to our benefit. Because when our deep experience combines with our talent for bringing issues to light that you're going to face, you can head into the future with confidence instead of trepidation. Which, come to think of it, is how every business out to feel.
New Products, Services and Markets
It may not feel like you have a sound mechanism for evaluating not only shiny objects but important initiatives that could either present you with a massive opportunity for growth or a massive distraction. What looks good on paper and sounds good in a boardroom is rarely the same as the reality awaiting you.
For this invaluable reason, having an advisory board member in Spitulnik Advisors will enable you to take a breath and a step back to ensure the values, people, resources and goals you've set out for your company are in total alignment with the new, exciting and yet, sometimes deceiving. Make your decision with us on the team so you can feel good about the moves you didn't make as much as the ones you did.
