You deserve to get everything you want when you sell your business. Whether you are preparing for a transaction in ten years or as soon as possible, you want to be ready to negotiate from a position of strength. To maximize your business value, you need to strategically plan for your exit.
How to get everything you want when you sell your business.
Clarify everything you need and all that you want after the sale.
Identify who on your team you rely on to achieve your goals.
Create a strategy to achieve your vision with your team’s help.
Be prepared for contingencies and opportunities.
Sell your business for maximum value.
What do you want?
Imagine your wildest dreams. Now, imagine getting everything you want. You deserve to make that dream a reality. You deserve to get everything you want as part of your transaction. All you need to do is make a list, assign a value to it, and set your business’s growth targets to meet your goals.
It’s important to also consider the benefits of business ownership, such as a company vehicle and gas, or a meals and entertainment budget, for example. Have you considered what you’d like to continue to enjoy when you are no longer a business owner? These will become significantly more expensive factors in your lifestyle when you begin paying for them with after-tax dollars.
Many business owners regret selling their business. Studies show over 50% say they are dissatisfied. If you don’t strategically prepare for the sale, you may find yourself wondering why you sold in the first place.
Who’s on your team?
Unless you are superhuman, you likely didn’t get where you are without some help. Who on your team do you rely on to meet your company goals? Did one or a few people come to mind? Did no one come to mind? Regardless of how many people you thought of, the point is that you need other people to help you continue to grow your business.
Identifying and recruiting key talent will help your business continue to grow and meet new targets. You will need to diversify your market and your offerings, maybe sell a new service or product line, or make a strategic acquisition. However you decide to approach your growth goals, you won’t be able to expand alone. Find people who are just as fired up as you are and find a way to channel their energy.
How do you get talented people to focus?
Talented people, whether they are already on your team or need to join your team, are critical to your vision. To get them to channel their energy where you want it, you need to understand what motivates them to perform at their best. Once you know what motivates them, you can channel their focus into activities that achieve your growth goals.
The good news here is that you don’t have to sacrifice your health and happiness to break out of a business plateau. If you listen to your team, provide them with opportunities to meet their own goals, and reward them for their efforts, they will make sure you get the results you set out for.
How do you watch out for number one without stepping in number two?
I saw that on a sticker on my dad’s motorcycle helmet and it’s stuck with me. Thanks to Rodney Dangerfield for that little gem. But seriously, it’s like your head needs to be on a swivel watching out for all the risks and opportunities that are out there. Fortunately, you don’t have to know everything and be everywhere to be ready.
Many business owners aren’t thinking about how to resolve catastrophes because they haven’t had to face them yet. There are too many things that occupy your day to day to contemplate the theoretical implications of theoretical situations. When you begin to prepare for a strategic sale of your business, those theoretical situations enter your reality. As you go through your transaction readiness preparations, you will have the chance to address and resolve those theoretical contingencies that keep you up at night.
When do you know you are ready to sell?
If you’ve taken the previous steps seriously, you have just maximized the blue sky in your business valuation. You’ve created strong relationships with your key employees, who in turn are building a strong market position for your business. You’ve addressed and resolved issues that could derail your goals and you have protected your company from contingencies that buyers consider discounts to value. And, you know exactly how much money you want to be free from your business. As you approach that financial freedom and prepare to transition out of ownership, your departure date suddenly becomes clearer.
If you are like most business owners, you have a timeline of ten years. As you take steps to prepare for your transaction, as you transition responsibilities, as you mitigate risks and harvest cash, you begin to see that you are free to choose your departure date. The benefits of working through an exit plan with Blue Sky Business Guides is that you become free to choose whatever path that’s laid out before you with clarity and confidence. You are ready whenever you decide to sell.
Let’s get started right away.
If you are ready to begin your strategic exit, let’s talk today. You can reach me at my email address, katie@blueskybusinessguides.com. I’m looking forward to guiding you through the transaction readiness process. If you’d like to learn more about the services we provide, please visit our website at blueskybusinessguides.com. Either way, know that you deserve to get everything you want from the sale of your company. We’re to show you each step along the way.
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