There is a better solution. Much more information is now available about sales of small, private businesses. There are a number of sources that have collected data on thousands of transactions over many years. These databases provide actual market data. Professionals and commonsense suggest that quality market data is best source for appraising any property. The databases have some shortcomings, too. The information is limited to basic data like annual sales, asking price, cash flow, selling price, etc. And some types of businesses don’t have many transactions. The databases work best when there are many similar transactions, so common businesses like restaurants are good candidates. Averaged figures from many transactions offset any extreme or unusual cases. The ratio of selling price to annual sales, or selling price to cash flow is typically used to calculate a specific business’s value.

These databases are available by subscriptions that are not cheap. So it is not practical for a small business owner to access them directly. And professionals who do subscribe aren’t prone to sharing them. There are a few companies that for a small fee will search databases for transactions involving similar businesses, calculate average ratios, and use them to calculate value of a small business. These low cost business valuations based on actual market data are great tools for making business value readily available for most small businesses. Using this tool, small businesses can finally start using business value as ultimate performance indicator, just like public companies.

Globalization has opened up exciting prospects for companies but Cranfield study suggests that, while economic opportunities are well understood, best means of staffing overseas operations are not. Companies need a much more holistic view of costs of an international assignment: costs of relocating somebody (financial, emotional, physical) and local costs of bad placements, cultural misunderstandings and inefficiency, all of which can be reflected in poor year-end results.

How can companies achieve this overview? Will they want to? To answer second question first, it seems obvious that those companies that take issue seriously are ones likely to have greater success in global economy. As to ‘how’, it will need a strategic approach that matches company’s goals. However, a strategy can only be implemented after a proper study of all factors involved:

•How long will it take a manager to become proficient in overseas branch? •What preparation does manager need before taking up posting?

•What support does manager need in post?

•What are impacts on family life and how can they be mitigated?

•What are behavioural adjustments needed by manager and family in order to function in new environment?

•What will process of repatriation entail?

•How can knowledge gained form each posting be garnered and used for next assignments?

•How can local branches be supported while they adjust to a new manager?

Undoubtedly there are many more questions that need to be raised. But one thing is clear: globalization is here for long term, and if companies are to succeed they need to take issue of overseas appointments very seriously indeed.