Disclaimer:
This article is for educational and informational purposes only and should not be construed as financial or investment advice. Please consult with a qualified financial advisor before making any investment decisions. Recurved Inc. is not affiliated with any of Adam E Coffey companies, and this article does not imply that Adam E Coffey would invest in your business, even if you met all of his requirements.

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Everyone dreams of building a thriving empire, but few achieve it. Many lack the roadmap, relying solely on opinions and ideas without a clear, actionable plan. The truth is, regardless of the size of your dream, the fundamental steps to building an empire are universal.Now, imagine having a powerful tool that instantly analyzes your business and reveals its "empire-worthiness." Introducing the Recurved, ACE Analysis, built based on Adam Coffey’s proven step-by-step structure and business fundamentals. Adam E Coffey, author of 3 bestselling business books with proven experience in building empires and selling over 58 companies that generated billions in exits has laid out all the details you need to know to successfully build your empire.   Here’s a quick summary of the key steps Adam uses to assess whether or not a company is positioning itself to be or become an Empire. We at Recurved, affectionately, refer to as the ACE (Adam Coffey Empire) analysis:1. Rule of 72

  • Are you better than the Rule of 72?  According to Adam, you absolutely need to be because that is first a sure sign you are on your way to building an empire and we want to build an empire quickly & efficiently so we can reap the rewards sooner. Who wants to be in their late 70’s or early 80’s before they can “cash out”?
  • The Rule of 72 is a quick, useful formula that is popularly used to estimate the number of years required to double the invested money at a given annual rate of return. At a 10% growth rate, it will take 7.2 years to double.  To build an empire you need a minimum of 30% growth rate.

2. SG&A Margin

  • Selling, General & Administration (SG&A) are the costs to run your business.  You want your business to have less than 20% SG&A margin as it relates to revenue.  Maintaining an SG&A margin below 20% is a hallmark of operational excellence.

3. AOV

  • You want to be growing your average order value (AOV) year over year. This indicates you are growing your overall pricing or upselling more per order which builds upon itself and moves you in the right direction for creating an Empire.

4. Units sold

  • Having a solid year-over-year increase in units sold highlights consistent upward growth over time and shows you are building a thriving business that is effectively expanding its customer base and increasing sales.

5. Revenue sources

  • Are you expanding your offering each year?  Being able to expand into new markets or simply offer new features or services can help you more quickly grow your business to multiple millions or even billions.

6. The 2x, 3x, 5x rule

  • Mastering the steps to building an empire means focusing on successfully growing your business into a billion-dollar empire buy 2x your business in 2.8 years, 3x in 4.2 years, and 5x in 5 years.  
  • If you can build your business plan to meet or exceed these targets you are for sure on your way to building an empire.

7. The 30-20-10 rule

  • As you achieve the other ACE metrics, you want to keep an eye on you’re your Gross margin, SG&A, and EBITDA.  If you consistently hit greater than 30% in Gross Margin, less than 20% in SG&A, and greater than 10% in EBITDA your business is primed for selling or capturing additional capital.  
  • We automatically show you when this time happens in your Recurved business plan and financial forecast.  So now you can plan well in advance for when the ideal time is to sell or get more capital at the optimal time.  There is no need to guess or wait until it’s critical for survival.

8. The PE Pyramid

  • Finally, if you are ready to sell or increase your capital, we will plot your business on the PE (private equity) pyramid, designed by Adam Coffey, to show you exactly what size PE firm would be interested in your business and what the range of multiples you could sell your business for.

All this with just a click of a button!  Why wait? The Recurved ACE Analysis instantly evaluates your business against these critical metrics, providing a clear roadmap to empire-building. With just a click in your Recurved plan, you can:Identify Your Strength:Discover your business's strengths and weaknesses in relation to the ACE pillars.Gain Actionable Insights:Receive tailored recommendations to refine your strategy and accelerate your path to empire.Plan for Success:Leverage the analysis to build a data-driven business plan and financial forecasts, ensuring you capitalize on opportunities at the optimal time.Don't wait to see if your business has the potential for greatness. Take control and unlock its empire-building potential with the ACE Analysis today!Who is Adam E. Coffey?Coffey, who wrote The Private Equity Playbook(2019)  plus 2 other excellent books and has “bought, sold, and financed around one hundred companies in twenty years,” makes a compelling argument for owners to prepare for a business sale years before they’re ready. Whether or not they heed that sound advice, entrepreneurs are sure to benefit from the author’s wisdom. This four-part “playbook” covers the bases: looking at buyers, preparing a business for sale, working with advisers, and managing the sale process. Part 1 addresses two basic types of buyers: strategic and financial. Coffey compares and contrasts them, supplying insights into each. Included is a nifty formula to estimate the size of a target financial buyer. A brief section discusses other buyer types, including Special Purpose Acquisition Companies, which are currently in vogue. Part 2 is all about preparing for a business sale; the information shared by the author here is invaluable. Coffey provides a clear definition of the variations of “earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization”—“a measure by which all companies are valued by most strategic and financial buyers.” He deftly explains such key financial terms as cash-based versus accrual-based accounting, generally accepted accounting practices and quality of earnings.Adam E Coffey’s books – we highly recommend you read them!

  • The Private Equity Playbook- (February 2019)
  • The Exit Strategy Playbook (September 2021)
  • Empire Builder (October 2023)

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Disclaimer:
This article is for educational and informational purposes only and should not be construed as financial or investment advice. Please consult with a qualified financial advisor before making any investment decisions. Recurved Inc. is not affiliated with any of Adam E Coffey companies, and this article does not imply that Adam E Coffey would invest in your business, even if you met all of his requirements.