Transition from Searcher to Operator - sharing experiences and resources
October 17, 2019
by a searcher from University of Delaware in Philadelphia, PA, USA
Hi searchers - I am weeks away from signing the Asset Purchase Agreement for my first deal. As I begin my preparations to operate this business and I am curious to learn from this community's experiences. (Sorry if this has been discussed in the past).
Any resources to share? (###-###-#### day plan templates? Day 1 checklist?)
Any good articles or books?
What have you learned the hard way that worked / didn't work?
Thanks!
Ross
from Illinois Institute of Technology in Pasadena, CA, USA
2. meet with top 25 customers during the first week
3. sign all checks yourself, have bank send cancelled checks to your home
4. if you unfamiliar with the industry, start chasing costs....prior owners may not have been as diligent as you will need to be. Question everything...why do we purchase from them, who are the alternative suppliers, start obtaining competitive bids on your top 25 cost items.
5. Get married to your sales people and travel with them
6. Know your competition really cold
7. Create KPI's immediately and start tracking them....publish to the workers what is driving this business and let them know these are the things that are of paramount importance to you.
8. Improve A/R collection
9. Stretch A/P
10. no fishing off the company pier.
from Stanford University in Honolulu, HI, USA