Be Proactive: Early Exit Plan Strategies with Meny Hoffman
"It's never too early to start thinking about your exit, no matter how much you love what you do," Meny Hoffman.
Meny Hoffman
is the host of the
Let's Talk Exits podcast, a platform that's geared towards ambitious Amazon and eCommerce entrepreneurs, whose primary goal is to maximize the value of their business and turn it into a top selling entity. Hoffman has two books ranked as Amazon bestsellers. He offers actionable advice on current events, the latest trends and important data so that eCommerce and Amazon businesses can prepare their perfect exit strategy.
Hoffman offered a wide array of services before he became the CEO PTEX Group—an agency located in Brooklyn, New York. PTEX Group has been in the business for over 20 years and has a team of over 60 people who work both in-house and remotely. You can contact Hoffman via his LinkedIn page.
What Directed Meny Hoffman Towards Helping eCommerce and Amazon Business Owners?
Hoffman speaks about PTEX Group, "The company continues to offer traditional branding offers targeted at service businesses, B2B and nonprofits. With the rise of Amazon and its platform for third party sellers to sell their own brands, we slowly but surely entered that space."
Hoffman began a podcast,
Let's talk Business. During his podcasting Hoffman noticed that when an owner builds a product brand—"The brand becomes bigger than the business owner. Eventually a business owner must look at their brand and say, 'I'm building a sellable asset.'"
Hoffman spotted a trend—
"In 18 months the brand would blow up and aggregators coming into the space would offer to buy the businesses."
Hoffman studied this trend and decided to provide the information he had gathered to other entrepreneurs to ensure that they had the correct information for this process to occur smoothly.
How Did Hoffman Evolve His Business to Help eCommerce Owners?
Hoffman has a phenomenal team who continues with branding and marketing services across the board, for hundreds of clients every year. This has given Hoffman the time he needs to consult with entrepreneurs.
When Should an eCommerce Owner Begin Planning Their Exit Strategy in Order to Maximize Value?
"It's never too early," says Hoffman.
He acknowledges that many people start a business to support themselves and their families. A number of factors can cause them to burn out. Entrepreneurs need to ask themselves:
- Am I working for the business, or is the business working for me?"
- Am I building an asset?
- Am I Incorporating this mindset into my business?
If you're building an asset that's valuable you are going to be able to get the money that will allow you to sleep better at night.—But according to Hoffman, it's not all about the money upon exit. Entrepreneurs need to focus on the proper metrics that will allow the company to maximize the value of their assets.
Three Powerful Strategies When Maximizing the Value of a Business
- Know your numbers
Do not rely solely on a bookkeeper or accountant. Know your metrics. This will allow you to be aware of the trajectory of the business while giving you a clear understanding of why? "This is the first stepping stone to understanding where your business is at, at any given moment, in order to know how to improve," says Hoffman.
- Be intentional about making change in the places where you need change.
"Know the numbers you want to see, and then take actionable steps to work out which elements of your business are hurting your total overall numbers," says Hoffman.
- Document your business processes
Not only will this make your business easier to transfer, it will allow potential buyers to gain trust in your organizational abilities and the success of the business.
Key Performance Indicators and Your CPA
A business owner may wonder, "why didn't my accountant tell me this?"
The answer is that you need to work together with your accountant. As the business owner, you hold the key to your KPIs. Your accountant can advise you, but you ultimately make the main decisions. Your accountant can then work with you to develop a plan to reach your exit goals. "When you arrive at your destination, you are more free about making a decision to exit or not," says Hoffman.
What Opportunities and Challenges Do You See Happening in the eCommerce and Amazon Space?
"Challenges will arise,says Hoffman. He has seen it all. Challenges pop up everyday.
According to Hoffman, with regards to eCommerce, there is a low barrier to enter, however it is more complicated than it was a few years ago, which means that you need to be intentional about your business. "It's not just a side hustle anymore."
Closing Remarks For Entrepreneurs by Ment Hoffman
"I started seeing the good, the bad and the ugly. Some of my clients tried to exit on their own, and lost a lot of money. Some people get so invested in the exit process that they forget that they still have a business to run." Hoffman decided to dedicate a certain amount of his time to educate and inform people, so they are well informed.
Closing Statement
eSenshi is an accounting firm specializing in assisting eCommerce businesses. We provide a variety of services such as Virtual CFO services, Sales Tax Services to assist eCommerce businesses. Catch Salim Omar and Shawheen Amirkhizi with more special guests on their popular Podcast—eCommerce Money Map.
Meny Hoffman is the CEO of the Ptex Group, Host of the Let's Talk Business Podcast, Strategic Amazon FBA Exit Advisor, a published author and motivational speaker.
Salim is a straight-talking CPA with 30+ years of entrepreneurial and accounting experience. His professional background includes experience as a former Chief Financial Officer and, for the last twenty-five years, as a serial 7-Figure entrepreneur.
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