Built to Sell: Creating a Business That Can Thrive Without You

John Warrillow

Apr 2011 · Ascent Audio · Narrated by Erik Synnestvedt

About this audiobook

A business parable about how to create a start-up that won't trap you when you want to sell it.

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 specializing in doing one thing better than anyone else.
* Repeatable: generate recurring revenue by engineering products that customers have to repurchase often.

Ratings and reviews

Unless you like stories about how to and not an instructional approach this book is for you. The narrator has the most annoying voice. He tends to extend the sounds in his words as if he were speaking in slow motion. I wouldn't buy again.

This is a great book on how to set up you way of thinking.

AAA BOSS NETWORK

About the author

John Warrillow is the founder of The Value Builder System, a simple method for improving the value of a company offered via a global community of advisors who have earned their Certified Value Builder qualification. He is the author of the bestselling books Built to Sell and The Automatic Customer.