BRX Pro Tip: 4 Ways to Have a Successful Business Exit
Stone Payton: Welcome back to Business RadioX Pro Tip. Stone Payton and Lee Kantor here with you. Lee, you and I aren’t going anywhere any time soon, but I can’t say I haven’t thought about it. What are you learning about achieving a successful business exit?
Lee Kantor: Yeah. Here’s four things you should be thinking about when you’re, kind of, getting ready for that stage of your business where it’s time to exit. The first thing is to start planning early. At least five years before you plan to exit, start thinking about things. Start, at least, gathering some experts around you, gathering some of the materials you need to exit in the most beneficial way possible. The second thing I would do is determine your business value today, see what it is, get a valuation of some kind, and then adjust accordingly. Because if you’re going to exit in 5 to 10 years, you’re going to have to keep growing that to get it to the number that you need it to be. So, determine your business value today and what you need it to be when it’s time to exit.
Number three, start enhancing your business’s value by creating assets such as standard operating procedures. That way, you can hand the business off to somebody and they’ll have kind of a handbook on how to run it. Start diversifying some revenue streams. Start adding additional revenue streams to make your business that much more valuable. Number four, assemble some sort of a team of advisors to help you get the best deal possible. Probably start talking to accountants, lawyers, some business valuation expert, your wealth management advisor. All of those folks are going to have opinions and can help guide you to giving you the chance to have the best exit possible. By following these steps and avoiding some common pitfalls, you can increase your chances of a successful and profitable business exit.
