Description
Document tell business turnaround a roadmap for owners.
Business Turnaround
“A Roadmap for Owners”
Knowhow - Guidance - Support
Dorset Partners LLC
A Professional Turnaround Group
Helping Small Businesses
Business Renewal Specialists Since 1977
Know-how / guidance / support
How This Report Is Organized
The frst part of this report introduces The Turnaround Roadmap™ method and explains
how it was developed. The Turnaround Roadmap is based on what actually works for small
business turnarounds, not the turnaround methods used by big companies. For the purpose
of this report, a "small business" is a commercial endeavor with sales between $3-50 million.
Business owners all over the United States have used The Turnaround Roadmap™ method to
regain their proftability. By following this step-by-step turnaround method, they avoided
bankruptcy and revitalized their companies.
The second part of this report reveals the 7 steps in The Turnaround Roadmap™ method
and highlights the results you can realistically expect to achieve.
Thanks for requesting this report. I hope you fnd it useful.
What Is A Turnaround?
Defnition: Business Turnaround
A business turnaround is a step-by-step process that (with the agreement of
creditors) leads to a reorganized and proftable company that can pay its bills on
time, whose assets exceed its liabilities, and whose owners can pay themselves
what they are worth.
A successful turnaround results in a revitalized business that has avoided bank-
ruptcy and protected its owner’s personal assets.
Van Lanier
Jef Sands / Dave Sands
Dorset Partners LLC
P.O. Box 67, 397 Fern Hill, Suite 201
Dorset, Vt 05251
802-867-4079
© Copyright 2009 by Van Lanier. All rights reserved.
2
Section One: Background and Overview
Your frst day in business was an exciting one, wasn't it? I'll bet you got there early and stayed late.
Since then, you've sacrifced a lot for your company–worked long hours, invested your money and
borrowed more, and missed a few important events. If you're like most business owners, the sacri-
fces were worth it. But, today…things have changed.
Despite your hard work and many sacrifces, the business has become a handful. It's not producing
the cash you need and the days are more hectic than fun. It's come to the point where you realize
you need to make some changes and turn things around - and quickly, too. But, just how do you
accomplish a turnaround?
A successful turnaround depends on producing positive cash fow, while system-
atically restructuring the company around a smaller, but proftable "core" busi-
ness.
Unfortunately, too many business owners (and their well-intentioned advisors) believe the solu-
tion to business problems is borrowing more money and chasing more sales. While this may seem
intuitively obvious, it doesn't work. It's like trying to blow wind into the sails of a ship that's taking
on water faster than you can bail.
Focusing on sales without addressing the causes of the problem invariably drains the remaining
cash to zero, then adds your company to all the others that are liquidated each year. It's the wrong
approach.
I developed a simple and reliable method to accomplish a business turnaround:
The Turnaround Roadmap™ Method
It's straightforward and it works.
Using The Turnaround Roadmap™ method does not require a degree in fnance or a lot of
money. It requires common sense and a commitment to turn your business around.
The Turnaround Roadmap™ method works for owners who want to fx their companies.
Quite frankly, if you believe all you need is more money and your business problems will be
solved, The Turnaround Roadmap™ is not for you.
However, if you care enough about your business to fx it, once and for all, read on.
3
The Turnaround Roadmap™ Method
The Turnaround Roadmap™ method is pretty straightforward. Once developed, The Turnaround
Roadmap™ guides you through:
1. Stabilizing the business and creating cash
2. Diagnosing what is causing the problems
3. Reorganizing your business and fnances around a proftable "core"
4. Preparing a realistic turnaround plan your creditors will believe
5. Negotiating the restructuring of your debts and obligations
6. Executing the turnaround with precision and consistency
7. Growing (or selling) the business when the turnaround is complete
Although these turnaround goals are simple, achieving them on schedule is anything but simplistic.
This is particularly true for business owners who are under fnancial stress and spend most of their
time reacting to one crisis after another.
The Turnaround Roadmap™ method has been used successfully by businesses in such felds as:
• Fabricated metal products
• Wholesale seafood
• Leather goods
• Custom cabinets
• Electronic components
• Industrial equipment distribution
• Automotive aftermarket products
• Medical devices
• Aircraft systems
• Food products
• Ofce furniture
• Prefabricated buildings
• Knitting mills
• Lumber and wood products
• Commercial printing
• Farm implements
• Metal doors
• Industrial machinery
• Specialty transformers and distribution equipment
• Industrial instrumental and controls
• Home Furnishings
• Publishing
4
Background of The Turnaround Roadmap™ Method
From conducting turnarounds all over the United States since 1977, I had the opportunity to see which
strategies worked and which did not. I learned from clients which tactics were comfortable to them
and which were not. I also learned from creditors what it took to convince them to support a turn-
around and what the owner must do to re-establish his credibility.
This continuous research and hands-on experience enabled me to acquire some very specifc know-
how about:
• A simple method to never run out of cash.
• The top 3 reasons most small businesses get in trouble.
• A logical and inexpensive method to diagnose your business.
• Where to fnd new money for a small business turnaround.
• The two most important things to have in your turnaround plan.
• What doesn't work when negotiating with your creditors.
• The most critical factor to a successful turnaround.
The Most Efective Way to Turn Around a Small Business
Turning around a small business is signifcantly diferent from turning around a large company. Of
course the scale is diferent, but so are the strategies and tactics. What may work for General Motors
certainly won't work for L&R Supply in Altoona.
Owners of small businesses repeatedly tell me the last thing they want is conficting advice from their
accountants and lawyers. It's not that these advisors don't mean well, it's simply that turning around
small businesses is not their expertise.
I've heard hundreds of times, "If someone could draw me a map that would lead me away from trouble,
I'd sure follow it."
I created The Turnaround Roadmap™ to provide this guidance.
Used correctly, The Turnaround Roadmap™ will guide you from negative cash fow to positive cash
fow, in minimum time – at low cost.
This step-by-step method has proven to be an efective way to turn around a small business particu-
larly when the stress level is high and the owner is wearing many hats.
5
Section Two: The Turnaround Roadmap™ Method
The Turnaround Roadmap™ method uses 7 steps to complete a successful business turnaround. If you
follow these steps, the odds are very good you can turn your business around and either grow it or sell
it.
Step One: Stabilize your environment so you can make good decisions.
The key to stabilizing your environment is to immediately create and maintain a positive cash balance
at all times. The quickest way to do this is never spend more this week than you start with on Monday,
regardless of how much you collect during the week. This simple cash control budget works like a
tourniquet -- it keeps you alive while you determine what went wrong and what to do about it.
Your controller may not think much of this simplistic approach to cash management, but it works and
you aren't likely to run out of money if you use it. And, in the nicest way, if your controller were doing
his job, you wouldn't be reading this report. A controller's job is to control the cash, not give you a
report saying you don't have enough.
Step Two: Find out what caused the problems you are dealing with.
There could be a number of reasons why your business is in trouble, but generally one of the following
is the culprit:
1. Sales are down, either taken by new competitors or lost to a decline in market demand caused
by an economic downturn.
2. Proft margins have declined while fxed costs remained the same.
3. The business has become top-heavy from an acquisition, adding new plant and equipment,
bulking up on inventory, or from owner compensation and perks.
You can quickly isolate the causes through comparative fnancial analysis. Start by seeing how you
compare to other companies like yours. Go to www.BizStats.com for some simple comparative infor-
mation. You'll see where others are doing well and you are not.
Step Three: Reorganize the business around a smaller, but proftable "core."
Every sustainable business has a core division, product or service that produces positive cash fow. Do
you know what makes up your proftable core? Do you know which products or services consistently
lose money?
6
One way is to rank the cash fow that each of your products or services produces in descending order.
Draw a line where the cash fow turns negative. The products or services above this line are your "core."
They become the foundation of your reorganization.
Everything that is not in your "core" business is systematically discarded. That means facilities, inven-
tory, and the people involved with them. The rule is: if it produces positive cash fow it stays; if not, it
goes.
Step Four: Prepare a realistic turnaround plan your creditors will support.
Write a simple turnaround plan to get through the next year and convince your creditors to stick with
you. Be clear and state your objectives in measurable terms. Describe your core business, sales plan,
staf reductions and cost saving actions. You should include a detailed cash budget and a set of fnan-
cial projections.
Be brutally honest in your assessment of how you got into this situation and how you intend to get out
of it. This will help restore your credibility. You will need this to obtain concessions from your creditors.
The objective in writing a turnaround plan is to prove you can stay in business while you turn things
around. Creditors generally assume if you can't write it down so they can understand it, you can't ex-
pect them to believe it. Frankly, that's fair. So, do it right.
Step Five: Negotiate the restructuring of your debts and obligations to the level
your cash fow will support - nothing more.
Before you try to negotiate anything, sort your creditors into two groups:
Group A and Group B.
Group A creditors are those you must have to stay in business, like banks and critical suppliers. Group
B creditors are those you can replace and don't need in order to survive. .
Because you've done your homework and are operating with positive cash fow, you will be in a posi-
tion to negotiate. Meet personally with each Group A creditor and sell them on your turnaround plan.
Be factual and positive. Show them how they will be repaid from the cash your reorganized company
now produces. My experience is that most Group A creditors will go along with you.
Don't waste time with Group B creditors. Hire a debt negotiator to obtain a settlement for you and
move on. These specialists are a unique group, and frankly some are better than others. Call me for a
recommendation.
7
Step Six: Execute the plan with precision and consistency.
I've seen many business owners work hard and get past the immediate cash crisis, only to fail at execut-
ing their turnaround plans. They stop focusing on cash fow, lose their discipline of daily measurement,
and turn instinctively back to sales (where the fun is). The result is a predictable slide back to negative
cash fow, missed payments…and the wheels come of the wagon. The owner loses all credibility and
there is no recovery.
To avoid this, stick to your map and do all the tasks called for in your turnaround plan. Insist on per-
sonal and staf accountability. Success is won or lost through execution.
Step Seven: Grow the business if it still excites you. Sell it if not.
If you like what you do and can you see yourself happily doing it for another three to fve years, you
should keep your company and grow it. You now have a proftable company and staying on course
should be easier this time around. You certainly know what to avoid.
However, if the turnaround has worn you out, you probably should sell this company and do some-
thing else. The good news is your company is now worth something, whereas before you turned it
around, it was worth little or nothing. Manage it well while you have it on the market. If you decide to
sell, I can refer you to several excellent intermediaries.
Results and Metrics
If you're like most business owners, you are naturally interested in what types of results you can expect
if you use The Turnaround Roadmap™ method. Well, it's similar to navigating with a GPS receiver. In
this case, the route is defned as traveling from negative cash fow to positive cash fow. The route is
clear and any obstacles are well marked. You get the picture.
Although individual results will vary, here are some typical metrics:
If you are starting with a pile of bills on your desk that you can't pay, you can expect to whittle them
down to a manageable list within 30 days and virtually eliminate Past Dues within 90 days. You can
reasonably expect to convert some accounts payable into long-term notes and settle others for less
than you owe.
You can also expect your business will get smaller, rather than larger, while you are following your
turnaround roadmap. Your revenue could drop 30% to 35% during the frst few months. However, you
will be proftable on less revenue, because you will have reorganized your business around the services
and products that consistency produce positive cash fow. It is this consistent positive cash fow that
allows you keep moving.
Many business owners confuse process with results. As a result, their expectations are rarely met. Turn-
ing around a business is a lot like getting in shape – it doesn't happen overnight. You achieve lasting
results by following a proven method and sticking with it.
8
The important conclusion to reach from these metrics is that once a turnaround roadmap is properly
developed, all you have to do is follow it. It will guide you from negative cash fow to positive cash
fow in minimum time.
Concluding Thoughts and Next Steps
As you can tell from this overview of The Turnaround Roadmap™ method, turning your business
around does not involve guesswork, unnecessary stress, or long-nights at the ofce. Turning your
business around is a straightforward process of:
• Stabilizing the environment so you can make good decisions.
• Diagnosing why cash is tight, sales are of, and profts are down.
• Reorganizing your business around a proftable core.
• Preparing a reasonable turnaround plan your creditors will support.
• Negotiating the restructuring of your debts and obligations.
• Executing your turnaround plan with precision and consistency.
• Growing (or selling) your business when the turnaround is complete.
Of course . . . as a friend of mine is fond of saying, "We reap the benefts of what we actually do, not
what we plan on doing someday when we're not so busy."
Thank you for your interest in my work. If you would like to learn more about how I can assist you,
please see the following link:
Guided turnaround consulting:
http://www.dorsetpartners.com
I wish you much success in turning your business around.
Kind regards,
Van Lanier
[email protected]
(802) 867-2456
9
About the Author
Van Lanier is a turnaround specialist who helps business owners fx their companies when they become un-
proftable. Over the past 30 years, Van has spent a lot of 12-hour days helping owners turn their companies
around so they could pay the bills, avoid bankruptcy, and take home a good living.
Van is the architect of The Turnaround Roadmap™ method and is the special advisor of Dorset Partners,
LLC.
Van is the former National Director of Turnaround Consulting for KPMG BayMark. He is a Certifed Manage-
ment Consultant and a life-long practitioner of turning things around.
Van holds an M.B.A in fnance and management. He is a long-time member of the Turnaround Manage-
ment Association, the Institute of Management Consultants, and the Superior Business Firm Roundtable.
Van has also earned his stripes as an entrepreneur. He has been an owner of seven companies, four of
which he started from scratch. He enjoyed success with most, but took it in the slats from one.
You can reach Van by calling (802) 867-2456, or by sending an email to:
[email protected]
About Dorset Partners LLC
We are specialists in the art and science of rehabilitating unproftable small and mid-size companies. We
provide turnaround guidance and support to business owners and their legal and fnancial advisers. We
also invest in distressed companies.
We assist our clients through the following professional services:
• Turnaround consulting (www.DorsetPartners.com)
• Sophisticated fnancial analysis and problem identifcation
• Viability assessments of distressed companies
• Recapitalizations
• Dispute resolution interventions
• Interim Management
Dorset Partners LLC • PO Box 67 // 397 Fern Hill - Suite 201 • Dorset, VT 05251 • 802.867.2456
doc_609217187.pdf
Document tell business turnaround a roadmap for owners.
Business Turnaround
“A Roadmap for Owners”
Knowhow - Guidance - Support
Dorset Partners LLC
A Professional Turnaround Group
Helping Small Businesses
Business Renewal Specialists Since 1977
Know-how / guidance / support
How This Report Is Organized
The frst part of this report introduces The Turnaround Roadmap™ method and explains
how it was developed. The Turnaround Roadmap is based on what actually works for small
business turnarounds, not the turnaround methods used by big companies. For the purpose
of this report, a "small business" is a commercial endeavor with sales between $3-50 million.
Business owners all over the United States have used The Turnaround Roadmap™ method to
regain their proftability. By following this step-by-step turnaround method, they avoided
bankruptcy and revitalized their companies.
The second part of this report reveals the 7 steps in The Turnaround Roadmap™ method
and highlights the results you can realistically expect to achieve.
Thanks for requesting this report. I hope you fnd it useful.
What Is A Turnaround?
Defnition: Business Turnaround
A business turnaround is a step-by-step process that (with the agreement of
creditors) leads to a reorganized and proftable company that can pay its bills on
time, whose assets exceed its liabilities, and whose owners can pay themselves
what they are worth.
A successful turnaround results in a revitalized business that has avoided bank-
ruptcy and protected its owner’s personal assets.
Van Lanier
Jef Sands / Dave Sands
Dorset Partners LLC
P.O. Box 67, 397 Fern Hill, Suite 201
Dorset, Vt 05251
802-867-4079
© Copyright 2009 by Van Lanier. All rights reserved.
2
Section One: Background and Overview
Your frst day in business was an exciting one, wasn't it? I'll bet you got there early and stayed late.
Since then, you've sacrifced a lot for your company–worked long hours, invested your money and
borrowed more, and missed a few important events. If you're like most business owners, the sacri-
fces were worth it. But, today…things have changed.
Despite your hard work and many sacrifces, the business has become a handful. It's not producing
the cash you need and the days are more hectic than fun. It's come to the point where you realize
you need to make some changes and turn things around - and quickly, too. But, just how do you
accomplish a turnaround?
A successful turnaround depends on producing positive cash fow, while system-
atically restructuring the company around a smaller, but proftable "core" busi-
ness.
Unfortunately, too many business owners (and their well-intentioned advisors) believe the solu-
tion to business problems is borrowing more money and chasing more sales. While this may seem
intuitively obvious, it doesn't work. It's like trying to blow wind into the sails of a ship that's taking
on water faster than you can bail.
Focusing on sales without addressing the causes of the problem invariably drains the remaining
cash to zero, then adds your company to all the others that are liquidated each year. It's the wrong
approach.
I developed a simple and reliable method to accomplish a business turnaround:
The Turnaround Roadmap™ Method
It's straightforward and it works.
Using The Turnaround Roadmap™ method does not require a degree in fnance or a lot of
money. It requires common sense and a commitment to turn your business around.
The Turnaround Roadmap™ method works for owners who want to fx their companies.
Quite frankly, if you believe all you need is more money and your business problems will be
solved, The Turnaround Roadmap™ is not for you.
However, if you care enough about your business to fx it, once and for all, read on.
3
The Turnaround Roadmap™ Method
The Turnaround Roadmap™ method is pretty straightforward. Once developed, The Turnaround
Roadmap™ guides you through:
1. Stabilizing the business and creating cash
2. Diagnosing what is causing the problems
3. Reorganizing your business and fnances around a proftable "core"
4. Preparing a realistic turnaround plan your creditors will believe
5. Negotiating the restructuring of your debts and obligations
6. Executing the turnaround with precision and consistency
7. Growing (or selling) the business when the turnaround is complete
Although these turnaround goals are simple, achieving them on schedule is anything but simplistic.
This is particularly true for business owners who are under fnancial stress and spend most of their
time reacting to one crisis after another.
The Turnaround Roadmap™ method has been used successfully by businesses in such felds as:
• Fabricated metal products
• Wholesale seafood
• Leather goods
• Custom cabinets
• Electronic components
• Industrial equipment distribution
• Automotive aftermarket products
• Medical devices
• Aircraft systems
• Food products
• Ofce furniture
• Prefabricated buildings
• Knitting mills
• Lumber and wood products
• Commercial printing
• Farm implements
• Metal doors
• Industrial machinery
• Specialty transformers and distribution equipment
• Industrial instrumental and controls
• Home Furnishings
• Publishing
4
Background of The Turnaround Roadmap™ Method
From conducting turnarounds all over the United States since 1977, I had the opportunity to see which
strategies worked and which did not. I learned from clients which tactics were comfortable to them
and which were not. I also learned from creditors what it took to convince them to support a turn-
around and what the owner must do to re-establish his credibility.
This continuous research and hands-on experience enabled me to acquire some very specifc know-
how about:
• A simple method to never run out of cash.
• The top 3 reasons most small businesses get in trouble.
• A logical and inexpensive method to diagnose your business.
• Where to fnd new money for a small business turnaround.
• The two most important things to have in your turnaround plan.
• What doesn't work when negotiating with your creditors.
• The most critical factor to a successful turnaround.
The Most Efective Way to Turn Around a Small Business
Turning around a small business is signifcantly diferent from turning around a large company. Of
course the scale is diferent, but so are the strategies and tactics. What may work for General Motors
certainly won't work for L&R Supply in Altoona.
Owners of small businesses repeatedly tell me the last thing they want is conficting advice from their
accountants and lawyers. It's not that these advisors don't mean well, it's simply that turning around
small businesses is not their expertise.
I've heard hundreds of times, "If someone could draw me a map that would lead me away from trouble,
I'd sure follow it."
I created The Turnaround Roadmap™ to provide this guidance.
Used correctly, The Turnaround Roadmap™ will guide you from negative cash fow to positive cash
fow, in minimum time – at low cost.
This step-by-step method has proven to be an efective way to turn around a small business particu-
larly when the stress level is high and the owner is wearing many hats.
5
Section Two: The Turnaround Roadmap™ Method
The Turnaround Roadmap™ method uses 7 steps to complete a successful business turnaround. If you
follow these steps, the odds are very good you can turn your business around and either grow it or sell
it.
Step One: Stabilize your environment so you can make good decisions.
The key to stabilizing your environment is to immediately create and maintain a positive cash balance
at all times. The quickest way to do this is never spend more this week than you start with on Monday,
regardless of how much you collect during the week. This simple cash control budget works like a
tourniquet -- it keeps you alive while you determine what went wrong and what to do about it.
Your controller may not think much of this simplistic approach to cash management, but it works and
you aren't likely to run out of money if you use it. And, in the nicest way, if your controller were doing
his job, you wouldn't be reading this report. A controller's job is to control the cash, not give you a
report saying you don't have enough.
Step Two: Find out what caused the problems you are dealing with.
There could be a number of reasons why your business is in trouble, but generally one of the following
is the culprit:
1. Sales are down, either taken by new competitors or lost to a decline in market demand caused
by an economic downturn.
2. Proft margins have declined while fxed costs remained the same.
3. The business has become top-heavy from an acquisition, adding new plant and equipment,
bulking up on inventory, or from owner compensation and perks.
You can quickly isolate the causes through comparative fnancial analysis. Start by seeing how you
compare to other companies like yours. Go to www.BizStats.com for some simple comparative infor-
mation. You'll see where others are doing well and you are not.
Step Three: Reorganize the business around a smaller, but proftable "core."
Every sustainable business has a core division, product or service that produces positive cash fow. Do
you know what makes up your proftable core? Do you know which products or services consistently
lose money?
6
One way is to rank the cash fow that each of your products or services produces in descending order.
Draw a line where the cash fow turns negative. The products or services above this line are your "core."
They become the foundation of your reorganization.
Everything that is not in your "core" business is systematically discarded. That means facilities, inven-
tory, and the people involved with them. The rule is: if it produces positive cash fow it stays; if not, it
goes.
Step Four: Prepare a realistic turnaround plan your creditors will support.
Write a simple turnaround plan to get through the next year and convince your creditors to stick with
you. Be clear and state your objectives in measurable terms. Describe your core business, sales plan,
staf reductions and cost saving actions. You should include a detailed cash budget and a set of fnan-
cial projections.
Be brutally honest in your assessment of how you got into this situation and how you intend to get out
of it. This will help restore your credibility. You will need this to obtain concessions from your creditors.
The objective in writing a turnaround plan is to prove you can stay in business while you turn things
around. Creditors generally assume if you can't write it down so they can understand it, you can't ex-
pect them to believe it. Frankly, that's fair. So, do it right.
Step Five: Negotiate the restructuring of your debts and obligations to the level
your cash fow will support - nothing more.
Before you try to negotiate anything, sort your creditors into two groups:
Group A and Group B.
Group A creditors are those you must have to stay in business, like banks and critical suppliers. Group
B creditors are those you can replace and don't need in order to survive. .
Because you've done your homework and are operating with positive cash fow, you will be in a posi-
tion to negotiate. Meet personally with each Group A creditor and sell them on your turnaround plan.
Be factual and positive. Show them how they will be repaid from the cash your reorganized company
now produces. My experience is that most Group A creditors will go along with you.
Don't waste time with Group B creditors. Hire a debt negotiator to obtain a settlement for you and
move on. These specialists are a unique group, and frankly some are better than others. Call me for a
recommendation.
7
Step Six: Execute the plan with precision and consistency.
I've seen many business owners work hard and get past the immediate cash crisis, only to fail at execut-
ing their turnaround plans. They stop focusing on cash fow, lose their discipline of daily measurement,
and turn instinctively back to sales (where the fun is). The result is a predictable slide back to negative
cash fow, missed payments…and the wheels come of the wagon. The owner loses all credibility and
there is no recovery.
To avoid this, stick to your map and do all the tasks called for in your turnaround plan. Insist on per-
sonal and staf accountability. Success is won or lost through execution.
Step Seven: Grow the business if it still excites you. Sell it if not.
If you like what you do and can you see yourself happily doing it for another three to fve years, you
should keep your company and grow it. You now have a proftable company and staying on course
should be easier this time around. You certainly know what to avoid.
However, if the turnaround has worn you out, you probably should sell this company and do some-
thing else. The good news is your company is now worth something, whereas before you turned it
around, it was worth little or nothing. Manage it well while you have it on the market. If you decide to
sell, I can refer you to several excellent intermediaries.
Results and Metrics
If you're like most business owners, you are naturally interested in what types of results you can expect
if you use The Turnaround Roadmap™ method. Well, it's similar to navigating with a GPS receiver. In
this case, the route is defned as traveling from negative cash fow to positive cash fow. The route is
clear and any obstacles are well marked. You get the picture.
Although individual results will vary, here are some typical metrics:
If you are starting with a pile of bills on your desk that you can't pay, you can expect to whittle them
down to a manageable list within 30 days and virtually eliminate Past Dues within 90 days. You can
reasonably expect to convert some accounts payable into long-term notes and settle others for less
than you owe.
You can also expect your business will get smaller, rather than larger, while you are following your
turnaround roadmap. Your revenue could drop 30% to 35% during the frst few months. However, you
will be proftable on less revenue, because you will have reorganized your business around the services
and products that consistency produce positive cash fow. It is this consistent positive cash fow that
allows you keep moving.
Many business owners confuse process with results. As a result, their expectations are rarely met. Turn-
ing around a business is a lot like getting in shape – it doesn't happen overnight. You achieve lasting
results by following a proven method and sticking with it.
8
The important conclusion to reach from these metrics is that once a turnaround roadmap is properly
developed, all you have to do is follow it. It will guide you from negative cash fow to positive cash
fow in minimum time.
Concluding Thoughts and Next Steps
As you can tell from this overview of The Turnaround Roadmap™ method, turning your business
around does not involve guesswork, unnecessary stress, or long-nights at the ofce. Turning your
business around is a straightforward process of:
• Stabilizing the environment so you can make good decisions.
• Diagnosing why cash is tight, sales are of, and profts are down.
• Reorganizing your business around a proftable core.
• Preparing a reasonable turnaround plan your creditors will support.
• Negotiating the restructuring of your debts and obligations.
• Executing your turnaround plan with precision and consistency.
• Growing (or selling) your business when the turnaround is complete.
Of course . . . as a friend of mine is fond of saying, "We reap the benefts of what we actually do, not
what we plan on doing someday when we're not so busy."
Thank you for your interest in my work. If you would like to learn more about how I can assist you,
please see the following link:
Guided turnaround consulting:
http://www.dorsetpartners.com
I wish you much success in turning your business around.
Kind regards,
Van Lanier
[email protected]
(802) 867-2456
9
About the Author
Van Lanier is a turnaround specialist who helps business owners fx their companies when they become un-
proftable. Over the past 30 years, Van has spent a lot of 12-hour days helping owners turn their companies
around so they could pay the bills, avoid bankruptcy, and take home a good living.
Van is the architect of The Turnaround Roadmap™ method and is the special advisor of Dorset Partners,
LLC.
Van is the former National Director of Turnaround Consulting for KPMG BayMark. He is a Certifed Manage-
ment Consultant and a life-long practitioner of turning things around.
Van holds an M.B.A in fnance and management. He is a long-time member of the Turnaround Manage-
ment Association, the Institute of Management Consultants, and the Superior Business Firm Roundtable.
Van has also earned his stripes as an entrepreneur. He has been an owner of seven companies, four of
which he started from scratch. He enjoyed success with most, but took it in the slats from one.
You can reach Van by calling (802) 867-2456, or by sending an email to:
[email protected]
About Dorset Partners LLC
We are specialists in the art and science of rehabilitating unproftable small and mid-size companies. We
provide turnaround guidance and support to business owners and their legal and fnancial advisers. We
also invest in distressed companies.
We assist our clients through the following professional services:
• Turnaround consulting (www.DorsetPartners.com)
• Sophisticated fnancial analysis and problem identifcation
• Viability assessments of distressed companies
• Recapitalizations
• Dispute resolution interventions
• Interim Management
Dorset Partners LLC • PO Box 67 // 397 Fern Hill - Suite 201 • Dorset, VT 05251 • 802.867.2456
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