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  • Published: 28 April 2011
  • ISBN: 9781101514115
  • Imprint: PEN US eBook Adult
  • Format: EBook
  • Pages: 176

Built to Sell

Creating a Business That Can Thrive Without You





According to John Warrillow, the number one mistake entrepreneurs make is to build a business that relies too heavily on them. Thus, when the time comes to sell, buyers aren't confident that the company-even if it's profitable-can stand on its own. To illustrate this, Warrillow introduces us to a fictional small business owner named Alex who is struggling to sell his advertising agency. Alex turns to Ted, an entrepreneur and old family friend, who encourages Alex to pursue three criteria to make his business sellable: * Teachable: focus on products and services that you can teach employees to deliver. * Valuable: avoid price wars by specialising in doing one thing better than anyone else. * Repeatable: generate recurring revenue by engineering products that customers have to repurchase often.

  • Published: 28 April 2011
  • ISBN: 9781101514115
  • Imprint: PEN US eBook Adult
  • Format: EBook
  • Pages: 176

About the authors

Bo Burlingham

Bo Burlingham is Inc.'s editor at large. He is the coauthor of The Great Game of Business and A Stake in the Outcome, and the author of Small Giants.

Bo Burlingham is the author of Small Giants: Companies That Choose to be Great Instead of Big, a finalist for the Financial Times/Goldman Sachs Business Book of the Year in 2006. An editor at large at Inc., he has also written for Esquire, Harper's, Mother Jones and the Boston Globe, among other publications.

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