Tips to Design and Execute on Your Business Exit Strategy

Here are 4 specific suggestions to create and execute on your exit strategy for your business.

Tip One: Clarify your exit UP FRONT so that you build your business with the end in mind.

There are four main exit strategies for business owners:  sell…

scale… own passively… or pass the business on to your heirs as part of

your legacy.

Which of the above strategies is your preferred ultimate business outcome?

Most business owners only look at how can they operate their

business, doing the job of the business as a means to generate active

income to live off of.  Smart Level Three business owners know that by

clarified their ultimate business outcome, they will grow their business

smarter and faster.

Tip Two:  No matter what your exit strategy, build your business

so that you COULD sell it; it will help you build a better business to

own passively or scale.

I’ve given this advice to thousands of business owners over the years

and I’ll say the same thing to you:  if you build a business that is

more saleable, the things that you do that make it more saleable make

the business easier to own passively or more able to be scaled

successfully.

These include things like:

• Decreasing the business’s dependence on you the owner
• Having strong controls in place
• Having a sales system that guarantees future growth and reliable income streams
• Reducing any customer concentration issues
• Etc.

Tip Three:  Look at your business through the eyes of a buyer

TODAY, and you’ll see the essential steps for you develop a more

valuable  business.

Buyers care about things like do you have solid business systems in

place? Do you have key branding or other protections from competitors in

your market space?  Do you have a solid and growing sales pipeline? 

Is the business independent of the owner or are all real decisions and

actions based on the owner’s involvement?  Etc.

You learn so much about your business when you go to sell, that’s why

I suggest you don’t wait until you put your business up on the market

to get this feedback.  Give it to yourself by conducting your own

“buyer’s audit” of your business.

Tip Four:  Most exit strategies require 24-36 months to pull off to best effect - plan today for your eventual exit.

Too many business owners make the million dollar mistake of waiting

to prepare their business for their exit until the year in which they

want to pull the trigger and execute their exit.

Instead, savvy business owners know that they need a minimum of 24-36

months to maximize the value for a sale… or to transition to a passive

ownership role in an intelligent fashion.

Some things just can’t be rushed.

I hope these four specific tips really prompt you to think today about the tomorrow you are working so hard to create.

Build a Business, Not a Job: How to Build Your Business to Sell, Scale, or Own Passively

Get your copy of this 176-page classic from Wall Street Journal Best Selling author David Finkel.

Or for more information on growing your business visit David on the web at: www.MauiMastermind.com.