Recently, at lunch with business owners, I was asked what are a couple of must dos for business owners that eventually want to sell.

The first thing that slid off my tongue was “don’t be sloppy.”

You know what a sloppy business looks like.  It could have one or more of these characteristics:

  1. Records are messy.
  2. Taxes are not filed.
  3. The facility is not neat.
  4. The attire is not attractive.
  5. The way people are treated is casual, really casual.
  6. Jobs are not completed.
  7. Etc.

I learned this early in my career as a Mobil Oil Corporation marketing representative.  Yep, I sold gas, tires, batteries, wiper blades, motor oil, and more.  I also had to convince the owners or managers of stations to clean bathrooms, the shop, the office, and paint the curbs a lovely white.    Why?  Well sometimes (confessions here) it was done in a hurry to make certain when the big boss came I would not be fired.  But the big boss was aware that it was really the public that wanted to spend money in places where they could safely go to the bathroom, not slide on greasy floors, etc.  People really don’t want to spend time in service stations anyway.  So, when they do they don’t want to be yet more uncomfortable.

So, what is the moral to the story?  Don’t be sloppy.  It builds confidence in you, your profession, your business.

BTW, it helps to make you more money!