Photo by Kaique Rocha from Pexels
As an entrepreneur, you may judge your company's success based on its assets. If you have a fleet of vehicles and plenty of liquidity, you probably see these as positives, which they are. However, there is more than one way to skin a cat, so it's wrong to base the short and long-term future of your business on the things you can see.
In the corporate industry, the things you can't see or touch are as essential because they are assets. You can buy them, sell them, and leverage them to make your organization better. But, what are they and how do you make the most of your hidden assets?
Carry on reading to learn more.
Intangible Bonuses
The reason you should think outside of the box is that assets are tangible and intangible. The former is easy to spot - cars, office space, etc. - whereas the latter is more challenging to collate. Still, it doesn't mean you can't use them to your benefit when you're in a pinch. For example, you can sell IP addresses you don't use. All you need is an IPv4 broker you trust. On the flip side, you will want to keep hold of things such as patents, trademarks, and intellectual property since they give the company an edge over the competition.
Debts
Yes, the arrears that you assume are bad for business are potentially lucrative sources of cash. As an SME, it's tough to track down unpaid invoices and money owed to you by customers and clients as you don't have the resources. The total amount in unpaid invoices across all U.S. is estimated at $825 billion, which is a ton of money to leave on the table. This is why enterprises with experience in the industry and the resources to funnel into debt collection will buy your balances. When you sell, you receive a cash injection that you would have otherwise forfeited.
Human Resources
It's wrong to class your employees as hidden assets because they are the lifeblood of every organization. However, there's no doubt that they don't get the credit they deserve, which is problematic. Firstly, staff turnover is a leading cause of drops in productivity and output, with the expense of replacing a worker at one-and-a-half to two times a person's salary. Secondly, you lose your company culture as a creative and diverse team is the answer to originality problems. Thankfully, offering workers more than money, such as flexible working times and medical insurance, can be the difference between losing employees and encouraging them to stay.
Products & Services
You may offer quite brilliant products and services, yet this doesn't mean that you've mastered the art of selling. If anything, understanding your strengths often leads to weaknesses as you slack off, causing the feature to become a hidden asset. If your company sells plenty, it could easily unload more. Therefore, it's vital to invest in suitable technology and funnel more resources into advertising and research and development to cement your improve your market position.
Hidden assets are everywhere. Can you spot them?