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For many SME baby boomer business owners last year, the economy forced them to focus more on productivity and how to do things smarter, particularly in the context of future business exit planning and long‑term value maximisation.

Some made strong gains; however, these were generally the larger SME‑sized businesses and above. Smaller businesses with long‑term owners often struggled to pivot to using technology or AI as an enabler to be more productive, a challenge that directly impacts business exit readiness, succession planning, and eventual exit valuation.

Bringing in a consultant is perhaps one option, and there are a multitude of companies running courses and programmes on AI in social media promising to upskill people 15 minutes a day for 30 days. While useful, these approaches don’t always translate into sustainable improvements that enhance business exit outcomes.

But is it helpful to just be a generalist on all productivity uses in your business? You can’t do everything, and it comes down to ensuring you execute on your critical productivity bottlenecks, particularly those that affect profitability, scalability, and exit attractiveness.

Most owners know where their bottlenecks are. The issue isn’t skill, it’s the willingness to embrace emerging technologies to address them. Learning something new and foreign later in life can be daunting, especially when what you want to do, and deserve to do, is to slow down, de‑risk the business, and prepare for a structured business exit or transition.

Another option is to find a technology and AI‑savvy business partner to work in the business. This can be far more effective for owners focused on exit strategy, as it enables productivity improvements while reducing owner dependence, a key factor in exit readiness.

With planning skills honed in much larger organisations that have training budgets and resources, such a partner can work alongside you to identify bottlenecks and implement productivity solutions. Over time, they acquire skin in the game through a structured, managed plan. You progressively step back, and when the time is right, you exit with more wealth, as your business becomes more productive, profitable, and attractive to buyers or successors.

A business we worked with completed over 4,000 specialised scheduled preventative maintenance jobs per month, managed via an Access database and a whiteboard. Around 20% of scheduled jobs were being missed  representing direct revenue leakage and reduced business value. Clients typically just waited until the next visit.

We helped secure a technology‑savvy business partner who implemented a proper workflow management system. Productivity improved dramatically, and job completion exceeded 96%. This not only lifted cash flow but materially improved the company’s exit valuation and  appeal.

Without addressing productivity and technology enablement, a business can become less competitive, less profitable, and harder to exit on favourable terms.

Bringing in a business partner with technology enablement and AI skills can be a powerful strategy,helping drive business performance today, improving exit planning outcomes, and protecting both your legacy and your financial future.

Mike Warmington is a Director of Platform 1 who specialise in using executive search techniques to find people with capability and capital for SME business owners wanting to transition.  

www.platform1.co.nz