Ever wondered how private equity investors grow their portfolio companies? Their goal is simple yet ambitious: triple the value of a small business in 3–5 years before selling it to a strategic buyer or another private equity fund.

Why the rush? Their investors expect a hefty 15–20% annual return on their money.

So, what do these suits with MBAs do to make it happen? Here’s the playbook:

• Engage in strategic planning
• Crystallize the business vision
• Make the business self-managing
• Document and streamline processes
• Pursue product and/or geographic expansion
• Create and track a dashboard
• Build and scale recurring revenue

Surprised? Probably not. You already know these are steps you should take to grow your company’s value, profit, and marketability.

But here’s the kicker: why give up 25–75% equity to do the things you already know need to…