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Registration closes Friday, July 26, 2024

I'm In !

Fellow Owner-Manager:

Want a clear PLAN to TRIPLE the value

of your business within 3 years?

Your mission over the next 6 weeks, should you choose to accept it, is to create a BLUEPRINT to triple the value of your business, while freeing yourself up from day-to-day operations, so that you're finally on the path to personal and financial freedom

Dear Fellow Entrepreneur,

I know all about setting out to be free, but getting bogged down building a business. I've tasted the bitter irony of working harder, longer & for less in your own business than when you used to be an employee. With less protection from setbacks.

The good news is that building value is not as difficult as it seems, when you focus on what you can do, and tackle it step-by-step.

Although the world of big business and private equity doesn't want you to believe it, there are two favourable phenomena that actually help Owner-Managers when it comes to value growth, which I outline below. So be encouraged - help is at hand!

Respectfully,

David Young, Founder & CEO, Shield Corporate Finance Ltd

Will burning the candle at both ends

really get you to blast-off?

Your commitment to your cause and your willingness to put your back into your business are admirable. They are the stuff of heroes, and, if you've launched your own business, you have it! But hard work, though necessary for success as an entrepreneur, is sadly not sufficient.

I understand the challenges endured by the entrepreneur
(which too often pave the way to burnout or bankruptcy):

"I'm a dynamo, not a treacle-treader!"

The irony is that I launched out to shake things up, yet spend most of my time bogged down. I'm full of ideas, but implementing them is exasperatingly slow.
"Never wanted to be doing this!"

I started my business 'cos I'm good at (X,Y,Z).

But I'm buried in (A,B,C) (accounting, bureaucracy and cr*p). So I don't get to do what I enjoy and need to be doing! When will it change?
"Too busy fire-fighting to plan properly"

I have a vivid vision and great goals, and I know it's important to put my plans on paper, but there's always something urgent that intervenes.

"Can't afford to hire help"

When I make some money I'll hire some help. But I've already invested all I can, or I don't want to risk any more debt, so I guess I'll just have to battle on alone, right?
"Can't get the staff"

Maybe now I could afford some help; but I can't find competent people at a reasonable cost. Anyway, I find it's usually quicker, in the end, to do it myself - and then at least I know it's done right!
"Can't trust the staff"

I've been burned. And I haven't got time to babysit my staff. So I need to be able to trust them. But I can't.

But what if you had rocket engines?

Your business is a rocket-ship, and you want it to take you on an exciting journey. But no-one expects you to power it just by pedalling hard. You need to build the engines that will bring about blast-off. In addition to your own hard work, you need good growth (albeit potential) and a good team (albeit virtual). All this is not as hard as it seems, thanks to a couple of natural phenomena that can propel entrepreneurs forward fast, but of which many are sadly unaware. I call these the 'Value Vortex'. So the first thing you need is a really good plan to harness the Value Vortex (which helps you navigate the wood while you're struggling through the trees). This kind of plan, tailored to your particular business, would be a blue-print for your success. Would such a thing be of interest to you?

Why not harness the financial phenomena that actually favour entrepreneurs?

Growth brings compound benefits!

Businesses are often valued by applying a multiple to profits. The relevant multiple increases as profit growth increases. So there is a compound benefit in getting your business onto a better profit growth track!
Just 3 Key Performance Indicators to keep in mind

You just need to look under 3 specific rocks for the keys to profit growth. And you just need to do what you can, where you can. But don't worry; it's not all about slashing overheads.
Small steps repeated bring remarkable results

Einstein called compound growth the 8th Wonder of the World. So you'e in good company when you apply this in your business..And profit growth brings the ability to build a team, too!.

Redundancy brings big benefits too!

Freeing yourself up from the business also brings multiple benefits: more time to spend on it, rather than in it, improved quality of life and reduced potential-buyer worry about the dependence of the business on you!
If processes are mapped, people are easier to manage!

It makes sense to write out your recipes for doing things (and only once they're written, can your team can improve them). Management becomes easier then, too. So let's do it!
Once you're 'out from under', you can devote your time to doing what you enjoy and what you're good at!

With processes mapped and job descriptions defined, we can free you up to enjoy your flow!

At last: a track towards lift-off,

tailored for your business!

Just as pilots need to know how to gain height after take-off, so entrepreneurs need to understand how to build value - so that they have the resources to invest in marketing & product development, to build the team, to attract funding or simply to have more flexibility for the future and more fun.

Having devoted decades to defending entrepreneurs against predatory financiers and buyers, my mission now as The Exit Expert is to help owner-managers along the path to true freedom, wherever they are on their journey and whether their goals are Success, Succession or Sale. All my experience shows that the sooner entrepreneurs grasp how to value a business and how to grow that value (whatever the weather!), the more clear and confident they become in setting their strategy and the more effectively they use their precious time.

Coming from a Wall Street background, I knew all about the power of profit growth potential to propel valuations sky-high. But it wasn't until I was working mainly with Owner-Managers, under my own banner at Shield, that I saw how much buyers of entrepreneurial businesses worry about Key Person Dependence, which takes time to mitigate. I also realised that many entrepreneurs toil much longer than they need to, in order to deliver certain levels of profit, whereas all they needed to do to build value was to demonstrate profit potential. Instead of trying to take advantage of these blind spots (as sophisticated repeat buyers and their financiers so often do), my mission has become to defend entrepreneurs, by encouraging them to get started as early as possible on planting the seeds of profit growth and on reducing the dependence of their businesses on themselves (through team-building, process-mapping and process automation). I am the bearer of good news: if you work towards making yourself redundant, you stand to reap both financial and personal freedom, because you will benefit not only the valuation of your business, but yourself and the people you care about!

So this 6-week group coaching course is designed to empower and equip each participant to craft their own credible route-map to tripling the value of their business in the shortest possible time. I guarantee that they will each come away from the Bootcamp with a plan to build (or re-build) value dramatically, while freeing themselves up from day-to-day operations as soon as possible, so that they are finally on a clear path to personal and financial freedom.

Your mission over the next 6 weeks, should you choose to accept it, is to create a BLUEPRINT to triple the value of your business, while freeing yourself up from day-to-day operations, so that you're finally on the path to personal and financial freedom !

The Bootcamp distils Shield's

acclaimed 6-month Value-Building consulting program into

6 weeks of group coaching

(& at a fraction of the cost)

On the Bootcamp, the Exit Expert will personally take charge of your trek through the tricky territory of Valuation to get you safely and confidently to mission accomplished: YOUR BLUEPRINT to 3X the value of YOUR business in the shortest possible time.

Here's the route-map to this empowering, enriching destination:

1. How businesses are valued

We de-mystify the blackbox of valuation, sharing some simple tools to give you the confidence to assess business valuations yourself, rather than having to rely on expensive experts
2. The value of YOUR business now

Next, we apply these tools to YOUR business as it is now, and identify its key Value-Drivers and Value-Depressants
3. How business valuation can be multiplied

We focus on a pair of powerful phenomena, like strong currents, that can carry your business further, faster than you might have ever imagined: the 'Valuation Vortex' and 'Redundancy Rapids'
4. Exploring the levers you could pull to boost the value of YOUR business

We see how the twin turbo-chargers identified in Week 3 can transform YOUR business, by modelling the compound benefits of multiple-expansion and de-risking (through delegation, process-mapping & automation)
5. Picking the most productive levers for YOUR 3X Valuation Blueprint

Now it's time to pick your most promising path to profit growth and your preferred route to redundancy, so you can focus on a pragmatic plan that will work for YOU
6. Delivering YOUR Blueprint to 3X the value of your business

In the final week, we assemble your value-tripling plan, defining Next Steps & setting time-frames. Armed with your blueprint, you can go forth and grow. Something to celebrate!

The subject matter is serious, but the Bootcamp is fun! It's planned with clear milestones, to pace you in pursuit of a clear objective. It's also designed to be a rewarding and enjoyable experience in its own right - quite apart from the transformation that having your Blueprint will bring to your business and your life over the next few years.

To reinforce your results from the
3X Valuation Bootcamp

I'm adding 3 special bonuses:

(I want you to be fully equipped for this exciting trek we'll make together, and I want to make your return on your investment in it so good that signing up is the only sensible thing to do!)

BONUS ONE

For the first 10 to join: a 1:1 Strategy Session with me personally, to clarify your goals (for you & your business) & identify the obstacles

My mission is to support Owner-Managers on their entrepreneurial journeys. So I'm offering to commit one hour to each of the first 10 people who commit to the next Bootcamp (in a Zoom call, or on the phone, as you prefer) to clarify your goals for your business, its ideal role in your life and to understand the biggest challenges & frustrations you're facing right now. This is a £600 value gift to action-takers!

Let's recapture your founding vision & excitement!
Let's explore where you're feeling stuck & tend to get bogged down., and why
Let's help me tailor your whole Bootcamp experience to YOU!.

BONUS TWO

2 key modules of 'Secrets of Business Sale Success', my £1,997 video course, worth £570, free!

These modules identify the levers (& depressants) of business valuation in the SMB segment, and how best to pull those levers as an entrepreneur. Gold dust!

What potential buyers really want and actually fear
How to offer investors/ potential buyers a good, reliable return on their investment.
Case studies to show you how much is possible for small businesses that have good potential growth and/or strategic value for strong acquirors!

BONUS THREE

A free copy of my book 'Increase & Extract the Value of Your Business'

This jargon-busting booklet, co-written with a business leader and a motivational mentor, is designed to encourage you to get to grips with the levers of value in YOUR business by de-mystifying financial mumbo-jumbo so that you can pursue and defend the value of your business confidently! RRP £19

You can read its 40 pages in a weekend. (I'll give you the £27 audio version too!)
Your clarity and confidence in goal-setting for your business will surge
The perfect primer & companion for the whole 3X Value Bootcamp!

Now let's put this in perspective:

What, roughly is the value of your business?

What is tripling that value worth?

And how will you feel to be on track for that freedom you wanted when you started up?

If your return on investment in our time together in this Bootcamp falls short of astronomical, I will roll up my sleeves and work with you to build the Blueprint that will see your business through to blast-off.

I've been through the mill myself as an entrepreneur, and I know what a lonely slog it can be to turn vision into value.

So I'm extending a hand of help. Now it's over to you: will you take it?

Total Package Value: £~~4,216~~

Bootcamp Fee: £3,000

(Or 3 Payments of £1,200)

YES! I'm In!

100% Privacy. We Will Never Spam You!

YOU ARE PROTECTED BY MY

PERSONAL GUARANTEE

"By the end of this program, I guarantee that you will have a plan to 3X the value of your business, or I'll work with you 1:1 to craft that plan!"

David Young

Founder & CEO, Shield Corporate Finance Limited

I understand the loneliness of the long-distance entrepreneur, from shivering solo in my garden shed through the famine & feast of start-up, to the struggles of team-building. My own roller-coaster ride included the pain of divorce, the set-back of the global financial crisis and the permanent impact of low interest rates on the exit options for entrepreneurs (whom I help on their trek to freedom). As an entrepreneur myself, I know the trials & tribulations we face, as under-valued and under-protected contributors to innovation, employment and growth in the economy! My mission is to support entrepreneurs as best I can, wherever they are on their journeys, and through whatever setbacks we face in these uncertain times.

What do our clients say?

I've been assisting entrepreneurs build and extract value since I founded Shield in 2001 to defend Owner-Managers in a world of financial advice biased in favour of buyers (who are obviously the repeat clients of the big banks and their lawyers). From an initial focus on sale transactions, I have moved upstream into value-building and growth coaching for entrepreneurs, whether or not they have any plans for sale or succession.

"Shield's Growth Coaching helped me double my profits in under 3 years. This automatically increased the valuation multiple the business deserved! So it was a double whammy benefit for us..."

Peter Bennet

Managing Director, Groveley Engineering

Shield helped me reshape my company's strategy (away from package tourism and towards cycle hire operations at strategic tourist destinations) in a way that made it more attractive. They found buyers when all the obvious candidates had withdrawn. And they maintained competitive tension. As an ex-banker myself, I can safely say that I have never seen such great value delivered in a corporate finance transaction before. Shield was able to bring investment banking expertise to a much smaller transaction size than the investment banks would look at.

Susan Achmatowicz

Founder, Country Lanes Limited

They were superb, guiding us through a very demanding process, very innovative, attentive and refreshingly straightforward to deal with. It was very reassuring to have Shield by our side.
I cannot commend them highly enough."

Eduardo Loigorri

Founder & Former Managing Director, Exchequer Software Limited

"Hiring Shield was probably one of the best decisions we ever made. Having built a business for thirteen years, in the last three months we managed to triple its value"

Joe Zammit Lucia

Founder, Former President and CEO, Cambridge Pharma Consultancy

Questions?

We welcome questions, and we have one or two answers!

1. "Is this for me?" FAQs

Why not leave the whole valuation-black-box to the experts, if and when the time ever comes to sell my business?

You're in good company; many entrepreneurs think like that.

But I've witnessed lots of hard-working, dedicated entrepreneurs sold terribly short in the end. Which has always grieved me.

The trouble is that the things that drive value, and the things that undermine it, all take time to deal with. Yet they're not that difficult to understand.

Whether or not you currently want to sell, the value of your business seriously affects your ability to attract good staff, build a dedicated team, raise debt or equity finance and enjoy the freedom you deserve to spread your wings, both business-wise and personally.

And over the years I've seen plenty of "I'll never sell" entrepreneurs change their minds, for various reasons:

Business success calls for structure, systems, procedures, admin and bureaucracy, which change the feel of the place. Entrepreneurs, usually full of ideas, want to start things, rather than administrate. Only a few can keep their balance through the tricky transitions which growth necessitates. Many get to a point where they're happy to monetize their investment to fund further ventures.
If sales stagnate and organic growth proves elusive, a business may still offer tremendous value to acquirers well-placed to benefit from its customer-base, technology, geography or other assets. It may well be that such acquirers can offer enough of "tomorrow's value" today to make early sale surprisingly attractive.
A day will come when you as owner-manager will leave your business. This is a simple fact of life. In the best case scenario, you will have created a commercial success that will outlive you. Congratulations! But you will want to provide for Succession, if not Sale. Since you cannot remove your ultimate Exit from the horizon, why not plan for it and make the most of it?

I'm just getting going. Surely I don't have to worry about valuation yet?

Precisely because it takes time to deal with the drivers and depressants of value, the sooner you start weaving value-building into your day-to-day business activities, the better.

(Please see the answer to the previous question, too).

Understanding what improves and what undermines value in your business has a crucial bearing on your choices of direction as you develop it.

The 3X Valuation Bootcamp is designed to give you the best possible route-map to your destination.

If you'd prefer to wing it, I can but wish you well!

I'm just thinking about launching a business, but I haven't even started! Surely I should wait and do this later?

Actually, the smartest entrepreneurs design their businesses from the outset to optimize valuation. They work backwards from planned Exit date and planned Exit valuation to what kind of business and business model to adopt.

But even for most of us mortal owner managers, who are motivated to get started by a good idea, or a drive to be free, the sooner we face the valuation facts of life, and embrace them and apply them, the better off we'll be.

Joining the 3X Valuation Bootcamp will give you a solid grounding in the business facts of life. You will be able you to test out your business idea well before you burn a lot more time and money trying to get it off the ground. And you'll come away with skills and confidence in assessing value (and how to build it) that will stand you in good stead for the rest of your days!

2. Support FAQs

Is this a live course, or pre-recorded?

The Bootcamp is very much a real-life experience! We have weekly live video conference calls with the group, led by David Young, to explain and discuss the weekly training materials released earlier in the week. Those training materials often include pre-recorded videos, as well as PDF's and Worksheets.

You have unlimited email interaction with your coach, David Young, on course assignments and questions arising.

There is also group interaction through the private Facebook group 'Value Triplers' just for Bootcamp participants, which is moderated by David Young.

So the Bootcamp is highly interactive, stimulating, stretching and fun!

How much help and interaction do I get?

My goal is to get you a credible Blueprint for tripling the value of your business in the shortest possible time.

The weekly video coaching sessions, coupled with unlimited email interaction on the weekly assignments, should give each participant all the support they need to succeed.

As mentioned in answer to the previous question, you also have the forum of the Value Triplers private FB group in which to raise questions, get answers and exchange perspectives and experiences.

What if I can't attend all the sessions?

Not to worry! Each coaching session is recorded, and each recording is posted for participants on the Bootcamp course delivery platform. This also provides a handy reference library for you, enabling you to revisit previous material as the course unfolds.

3. Billing FAQs

You're offering a payment plan over 3 months for a 6-week course?

Yes, that's right. Because I really do want to help fellow entrepreneurs wherever they are on their journeys to freedom. And I remember what it's like to have lumpy cash flow. So i want to enable every Owner-Manager who really wants this to do it.

Also, I know that anyone who joins the Bootcamp will be grateful they did. And I'm hoping to develop working relationships where the trust and respect is mutual. So I welcome you with an open heart, rather than a tight fist!

Can I pay with Paypal, as well as with a credit card?

Yes, you can pay with either.

Or both ;-)

So, why not make 2024 the year

your business really breaks through?

At a time when we all need to review our business plans, I'm offering you a tried and tested template for tackling value-growth.

Fire-fighting has to be done. But all too often, our businesses end up running us. Yet we're the Owner-Managers and we're in charge! So let's make sure we run our businesses to meet our objectives, notwithstanding uncertainties about what the "new normal" will look like.

The most precious thing we have is time. Why waste it, stuck in ruts or floundering in frustration? The sooner we start to harness the two favourable phenomena that help Owner-Managers with value growth, the better.

You can turn time to your advantage by starting to pull the levers that open the throttle of your value growth engines. Join me on the 3X Valuation Bootcamp and I'll show you how!

David Young, Founder & CEO, Shield Corporate Finance Ltd

Remember, you're protected by my

Personal Guarantee