In 'Small Giants', Bo Burlingham explores companies that have rejected the pressure to grow endlessly and instead focus on more satisfying business goals. These companies, termed 'small giants', prioritize being great at what they do, creating a great place to work, providing excellent customer service, making significant contributions to their communities, and finding fulfilling ways to lead their lives. The book highlights examples such as Anchor Brewing, Righteous Babe Records, and Clif Bar Inc., and discusses the benefits and challenges of maintaining a smaller, more personalized business approach.
In 'Built to Sell', John Warrillow provides practical advice on creating a business that can operate independently of its owner. The book is structured around a story where a business owner, Alex, is guided by his mentor Ted to transform his marketing agency into a sellable business. Key lessons include running the company as if it will last forever but being ready to sell at any moment, focusing on a specific, non-customizable product or service, creating a positive cash flow cycle, and hiring a sales team to remove the owner from the sales process. The book emphasizes the importance of making the business repeatable, valuable, and teachable to attract potential buyers.
In 'Finish Big', Bo Burlingham addresses the often-overlooked topic of how business owners can exit their companies successfully. The book is based on dozens of interviews with entrepreneurs across various industries and identifies key factors that distinguish happy exits from unhappy ones. Burlingham outlines a four-stage process for exit planning: exploration, strategy, execution, and transition. He emphasizes the importance of starting early, building a sellable company, and preparing for the emotional challenges of leaving a business. The book also introduces the Sensibility Scale, a tool to help owners view their companies objectively from different perspectives[1][2][5].
Today on the podcast we have the best-selling author of the legendary book Built to Sell, a book that has been helping thousands and thousands of entrepreneurs all over the world build their businesses. He is the host of Built to Sell Radio, a podcast ranked by Forbes as one of the world’s 10 best podcasts for business owners! He has started and exited four companies himself, including one acquired by a public company. He is the business model expert sought out by the likes of Tim Ferriss, CBS and Inc Magazine for his proven methodology in adding millions upon millions of dollars to the value of businesses globally! His name is John Warrillow and he is on the podcast today!
Today we are going to talk about his book, his methodologies, how to remove yourself from your company and why every entrepreneur should set out to build a business worth selling, even if you decide never ever sell it!
03:55 Who is John Warrillow?
06:45 The Importance of Having the End in Mind for Entrepreneurs
15:25 Build Your Business to Have an Options Strategy as Opposed to an Exit Strategy
Built to Sell Tips to Build Your Business
18:50 Tip #1: Don’t Generalize in Business - Specialize
24:35 Tip #2: Relying Too Heavily on One Client is Risky & Will Run Off Potential Buyers
25:25 Tip #3: Owning a Process Makes it Easier to Pitch and Puts You in Control
- Be clean about what you are selling and potential customers will be more likely to buy your product.
- When people are the main assets of the business and they can come and go every night, the business will not be worth very much
29:10 Tip #4: How to Create a Personal Brain that is Sellable?
- Don’t become synonymous with your company
31:40 Tip #5: When You Have a Product - People Expect to Pay for it in Advance
- Make your service a product/productized!
34:40 Tip #6: Don’t Be Afraid to Say No to Projects
- Prove you are serious about specialization by turning down work that falls outside your area of expertise - the more you say no the more referrals you will get to people who need what you have.
39:10 Tip #9: Hire People Who are Selling Products - Not Services
- These people will be better able to figure out how your product can meet a client's needs rather than agreeing to customize your offering to fit what the client wants.
43:45 Tip #11: You Need at Least 2 Years of Built to Sell Financial Statements Before you Sell
46:15 Systemization & Offers That Distract Companies From the Niche Focus of Their Business
49:10 John’s Advice on the Starting Stages of Speaking with Potential Acquirers & Soliciting Offers
53:25 John’s Recommendations for Entrepreneurs Post-Sell of Their Business
56:55 Discovering Recurring Needs for Subscription Products
59:50 Selling a Non-Productized Premium Fit Business
1:08:45 Do Not Prioritize Just Focusing on Sales
1:12:45 Finding The Freedom Point in Your Business
Contact Info:
Built to Sell Website: https://builttosell.com/method
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The Business Method: Interviewing Billionaires, Billion Dollar Founders & the World’s Most Successful People 🎧🔥 
