While you may have multiple goals in mind for the business, please let us know which is most important to you. Your answers here do not affect your final score but do help understand your current position.

Now let’s explore each individual driver.

The larger the market (tapped and untapped) the more attractive it is because it stands for more opportunities. However, being a leader in a smaller niche is also attractive. Even if you have a true competitive advantage, a growth market is favored.

If your company sells products or services in more than one market, think about your primary market, or the market that is most fundamental to the success of your company.

A fundamental metric in measuring the value of a business is the degree to which it can generate recurring and profitable revenue (sticky revenue) from customers. Sticky revenue occurs when customers choose to keep buying from a company because of perceived value. Contracts are one way to guarantee future revenue, but other examples include a long-term lease on a high traffic location, and a strong loyalty program that rewards future purchases.

Barriers to entry may include legal, capital, and/or market barriers.

Product differentiation allows your customer to see your products or service as unique.

A brand is the consistent experience your customer has with the business, it’s people, and it’s products and services.

Margins are a measure of how efficiently you make money. Better than industry margins make your company more valuable.

Valuable companies have a varied customer base including long-term customers, new customers, and developing customers.

Think about the culture of the company versus the personality of any one individual within the company.

Effective financial practices should adhere to accounting best practices and federal and state compliance regulations, while staying in line with your long-term goals and future growth plans. Your goal here is to establish consistency and transparency in financial reporting.

Sales and marketing success is more than just persuasive personalities; it is process driven.

Running a business will always be challenging. Building a solid foundation of smoothly operating practices can make it much easier to scale and maintain.

Simply put, satisfied customers are loyal customers. They drive repeat business and revenue, both of which are essential to the longevity of the business.

Think about who would run the company for an extended period of time, if the business owners were not present. Do you have someone or a team in place who could take over if needed?

Human Resources are all about people. People can be sticky, full of legal land mines, and if not managed properly, can be very costly to an organization.

There is nothing like legal problems to distract you from your mission. From tax law to human resources, proper legal compliance applies across all facets of the business.

The more your company encourages and rewards innovation at every level, the more you will be able to stay ahead of changes and continue to proper.