Business Exit Strategy
When it's Time to Move on
The final thing to consider about your business is your exit strategy. Will you keep running your business yourself forever? No matter how exciting it seems now, there's bound to come a time when you're either no longer interested, or (sadly but realistically) no longer physically capable of running the business anymore. There are a few different options for your exit strategy, and all good businesspeople should consider them before they get too deep into the everyday running of the company.
You might like to hand down your company to your children some day. If this is the case, you should ensure that you get them involved early on, so they can learn all the inner workings of the company, and what each department does etc. That way, when it comes time for you to step down, they can step up and fill your shoes with a minimum of hassle.
The most common exit strategies in business are either: Selling the Company, Franchising it, or Floating it on the Stock Market.
Possible Exit Strategies
1. Selling your company
By selling your company, you'll relenquish all control / ownership etc. to the new owner(s), get a nice payout for all your hard work setting up the company in the first place, and you'll usually be free from then on to go and do whatever else you wish to do with your new-found riches.
2. Franchising
By franchising, you can sell your system to others who prefer to bypass the whole "start-up" side of the business, and get down to just running it! In most cases, you would accept a flat fee for the purchase of the franchise, a monthly % of their profits, and usually also an exclusivity arrangement where they must purchase all stock etc. through you. As with selling your company, franchising allows you a certain amount of freedom after doing so, although keep in mind that if the franchisee falls into any difficulty, or needs any help, they'll be knocking on your door first.
3. Floating it on the Market
If you prefer to stay directly involved with the future growth of the company, floating it on the stockmarket (which means making it a publicly-listed company) could be the best exit strategy for you. On the downside, you'll have to deal with a whole lot of paperwork, and extra requirements (such as annual reports, shareholder meetings etc). The benefit though, is that millions of people around the world will be able to invest in your company, allowing you much greater potential for capital, to allow you to grow your business much more.
Whatever you decide to do, you should always consider the greater goal of what you planned to achieve by creating your company in the first place. If you lose sight of that, you could find yourself slaving away doing the day-to-day menial jobs in your business, not enjoying it, and wondering why you ever started it. If you always keep your goal in sight, you'll be able to run the business efficiently, build it up into a solid, successful entity, become time-and-financially-free, and achieve even the most ambitious of your dreams... just like the dream of healing the world that led me to create this site.
Need Advice about your Exit Strategy?
If you wish to discuss possible exit strategies for your business, Contact us anytime and we'll do our best to ensure you have the right tools to make the right decision about your own, and your company's, direction.
