Although there is no single path to building future value, one way you can increase your odds of success in any of these scenarios is by investing in your present business. Once you've clearly identified the source of your business' competitive advantage, you can determine how to build upon that advantage to increase your company's value over the long term.

Getting Started
Understanding which parts of your portfolio are driving the greatest profitability -- and which aren't -- is a good place to begin. This information can provide tremendous insights into the areas on which you should be focusing, and those to which you can devote less energy. Ask yourself these questions:

• Which pieces of my business are the most and least profitable?
• Which of products and services I offer are the most and least profitable?
• Are there alternate ways I could deliver services today to increase my profitability?
• Can I transfer some of that knowledge to other less profitable parts of my business to improve performance?
• Can I eliminate the less profitable pieces of my business and still provide the service my customers need?

The answers to those questions will not only help you build a much more valuable business in the short term, but they will also help you in preparing your business if and when you choose to sell or merge with another.

A Financial Checkup
Many channel companies lead with their top-line revenue as an indicator of business health. Yet in many ways, top-line revenue is a snapshot in time of what your company was able to earn during a particular quarter or year. This number only begins to provide forward-looking projections when a significant portion of the business' revenue is predictable and recurring. With this in mind, here are some additional questions to ask:

• How predictable is my current business on an annual basis?
• What percentage of my business is project-based?
• What customers can I shift from project- to contract-based?
• Are there additional products, services or solutions that could be delivered on a recurring contract basis that the business does not offer today?
• If I removed all the project-based revenue the business earns in a given year, would we be able to keep our doors open? If so, for how long?

Transitioning a business to become more profitable and predictable may not happen overnight, but asking the hard questions is the first step. It may take some time to find the answers and reach internal agreement, but when that process is complete, you can begin to work on improving your present business while building for the future.