New Year, New Direction?

Insights by Peter Watson.

With Christmas ruined for many by Covid for the second year in a row, I hope that you avoided Omicron and had a good break.

It is easy to just start the new year in the same way that you left the old, but starting a new year does give us the opportunity to take stock. Is your business still delivering what you require? If not, how does it need to change?

I spoke recently to a client whose business we sold a few months ago. Whilst still delighted with the result, they mentioned that waking up without the responsibility (and involvement) in something that you were previously joined to by the hip was a bigger shock than expected. We always advise clients to try to avoid sudden ‘cliff jumps’(!), so perhaps now is the time to allow yourself a day or two each week away from the business. It will give you time to think, possibly see the wood for the trees, and at the very least allow you to spend time exploring other things you’d like to do (expanding your own “hinterland” if you like).

We are running a couple of virtual seminars in February that might also help you to assess where you are at in your business journey. The first explores five ways to add value, and the second looks at business valuations and market activity. They are suitable for tech business owner-managers who are thinking about selling in the next three years and also for anyone who wants to acquire a tech business. We hope you can join us.

Also, please do complete our short anonymous survey on the current state of the software and IT services sector. We will include the results in our next M&A report to be released in March.

Whatever your stage, we wish you a very happy and healthy New Year.