John Warrillow

John’s goal is to help business owners build valuable—sellable—companies. Part of the reason he writes is ego gratification—he likes getting your emails and tweets; the other part is needing to feel that he is making a contribution in some small way.  

John has started four companies, the most recent of which was a research business he tried to sell in 2004 only to be told by an expert that it was too dependent on him personally. Learning that his business was unsellable was frustrating. First he denied it. Then he got angry. Finally, he set about remodeling the business into one that could thrive without him. After lots of trial and error, it started to take off, and his company was acquired in 2008 by a publicly traded company.  John learned a lot in those four years, and those lessons became the inspiration to start his blog.

John thinks that the world needs more entrepreneurs. If he had to rely on anyone to get him off the side of a mountain, he would want a creative, tenacious and tough-minded entrepreneur by his side. When he votes, he prefers candidates who have started a business. John believes entrepreneurs will be the ones to solve our biggest problems and bring the developing world the quality of life that Westerners enjoy, which is why he has created a team of Built to Sell readers who lend money to entrepreneurs in the developing world through an organization called Kiva.

• 2. BUILDING A COMPANY THAT CAN THRIVE WITHOUT YOU

  Many business owners find themselves trapped in their business. Customers ask to deal with the owner, who is oftentimes the company's technical expert. The owner then becomes personally involved in serving the customer, reinforcing the customer's reliance on the owner, and the cycle continues. The ultimate goal of any business should be to be able to thrive without the owner, giving the owner the widest, most attractive set of options: John's talk will show how business owners can pull themselves out of the day-to-day business and create a company that can thrive without them. Attendees will learn:

  1. Continue to run the business but just cherry-pick his or her favorite tasks

  2. Hand the day-to-day operations to a management team and take more time away from the company for travel or other projects

  3. How to attract multiple strategic bidders for your business How to maximize your valuation and get the highest possible price for your business

  4. Sell it

  5. The secret to erasing cash flow concerns

  6. The 3 criteria of a scalable company

  7. The 6 forms of recurring revenue

  8. The 8 steps to creating a sellable company

  9. The biggest mistake business owners make in trying to get their business to run without them

  10. The secret to getting your cash up front and avoiding a lengthy earn out

• 1. BUILT TO SELL

  Whether you intend to sell next year or ten years down the road, you need to ensure you have a business you could sell. Unfortunately, just 1 out of 100 business owners are successful in selling their company each year. In 1997, John Warrillow started Warrillow & Co. In 2008, he sold his company to The Corporate Executive Board (NASDAQ: EXBD) and is now sharing his experience in turning a business into a sellable company in his new book, Built To Sell: Turn Your Business Into One You Can Sell. You may want to retire, travel, cash out, or just sleep well at night knowing you could sell your business. Regardless of your reasons, you need to ensure you have a sellable business. To sell your business you need to know:

  1. The 8 steps to creating a sellable company

  2. How to attract multiple strategic bidders for your business

  3. How to maximize your valuation and get the highest possible price for your business

  4. The secret to getting your cash up front and avoiding a lengthy earn out

• John is a visionary ... he understands the concept of customer and does an amazing job delivering a simple yet motivational message ....

  TELUS

• John is an excellent speaker and author; he presents well and has a deep understanding of both business and marketing. His 1,000's of conversations with both small and large businesses give him credibility and insight that he uses to maximum advantage when presenting.

  TD Canada Trust

• I've had the pleasure to work with John Warrillow as we both share a focus and passion for the small business market. John is an excellent presenter and event moderator. He served as the keynote for many conferences I've attended and was interesting and engaging in his presentation content and style. I've also co-presented webinar and lecture series events with John where he demonstrated a great ability to adapt to the channel, format and audience needs in his presentations.

  Experian

• John's presentation style is engaging and informative. He takes the time to understand his audience and deliver the message in ways that resonates. He takes time to educate and share his knowledge and insights.

  RBC

• John Warrillow is an excellent speaker. He captivates his audience with clearly presented insightful information, flavored with personal and professional stories that illustrate his salient points. I have had the pleasure of hearing John speak at various events for the past 8 years, and I wouldn't miss the chance to attend another presentation. He's one of the best!

  Bank of America

• John's insight into the issues of small business owners is remarkable. And he is very engaging in the way he shares those insights in a group setting. His use of both data and stories works well to captivate an audience. I always learn something listening to John speak.

  nFusion Group

• John Warrillow is truly one of the best speakers I have known. He is extremely knowledgeable, but more than that, understands how to connect his knowledge to actionable ways to address issues and problems. He has a gifted way of connecting with his audience and an uncanny sense of how to get his point across in a way that is well-received - even if the audience is at different levels of understanding. I would hire John in a heartbeat for any speaking event as he is always professional, well-prepared, and downright interesting!

  SunTrust Bank

• I have had the opportunity to hear John speak on a number of occasions. John is always up to date and his material is presented in a clear and concise manner. He has the ability to tailor his presentations to meet the client expectations and adapts to a multitude of market segments. I would highly recommend John as a speaker for your industry or business.

  GE Money Canada

• I would highly recommend John as an articulate contributor to strategy and positioning in the small business market, as well as an educator on the challenges and opportunities presented to small businesses.

  Bell Canada

• John is a fantastic presenter - very polished, engaging and interesting. He has a great stage presence and a good sense of humour so that you are intrigued to listen to the discussion and time flies by. I would highly recommend him - he is a very professional and engaging speaker.

  Bank of Montreal

• It's clear John has a commanding knowledge of entrepreneurs that he is able to parlay into usable insights for his audience, what makes John an excellent speaker is a highly personable, casual charm that engages the audience and fosters a sense of personal connection.

  Citi Cards Canada

• John is an expert in the understanding of small businesses and his presentations and insights were very useful to our team. He is a great speaker and while we did not involve ourselves in many smaller events, this one was exceptional.

  Microsoft

• John is a charismatic presenter who makes a clear connection with his audience, and provides deep insight and powerful ideas that his audience can easily identify with and action. He does so with a very engaging style that endears himself to his audience.

  Purolator Courier Ltd

• 
  February 2010

  Built to Sell

  With only one out of 100 business owners successfully able to sell their companies each year, this guide provides insight and advice on building enticing companies that are potentially lucrative to prospective buyers. Including 14 steps to creating a salable company, this reference also discusses topics such as how to attract multiple strategic bidders, how to maximize valuation and receive the highest possible price, and the secret to getting cash up front and avoiding a lengthy earn out. A necessary book for business owners looking to sell their company or for those seeking new investments, this is a blueprint for creating a salable company.

  
  
• 
  March 2002

  Drilling for Gold

  More businesses will be born in the United States today than babies. More college kids would rather grow up to be an entrepreneur than the president of the United States. We’re living in the most entrepreneurial time in history, yet most companies fail to capitalize on the small business market. Fortune 500 corporations spend millions on advertising that goes mostly unread, segmentation models that can’t be implemented, and websites that get ignored. Drilling for Gold: How Corporations Can Successfully Market to Small Businesses grabs you by the collar and takes you through a four-step action plan for profiting in the small business market.