If you’ve thought about leaving your business but don’t know where to begin, you are not alone.
Leaving your company is a process. A well-designed and implemented exit plan takes at least three years to formulate. Now is the time to put plans in place to prepare you and your family for one of the biggest financial events of your life.
With over half of today’s 9.5 million owners of established businesses reaching the retirement age of 50 years old or older, it is more than likely that many of you will be ready to leave your business within the next decade. It’s never too early to prepare an exit strategy. Call our experienced team and start planning for your future.
Reap the rewards of your hard work
If you are planning on selling your business, you need to plan now to get the maximum return. Your business should also be able to stand on its own and thrive without you so the next owner can continue to grow and profit from your hard work. If you take time to plan your exit now, you will ensure a smooth transition and increase your chances of financial success.
What are you waiting for?
If you’re already taking action to leave your business, ask yourself if you are approaching your exit in a methodical, logical, rational manner. Most owners do not undertake the necessary thought and planning that guarantees good ownership transitions. They don’t know how to begin or exactly what to consider and analyze.
The good news is that there is a planning and implementation process to follow. This Exit Planning process begins with understanding your exit objectives and financial goals. Only then can a proper exit path be designed for you, whether as a sale to a third party, a transfer to children, a sale to an ESOP, a sale to a co-owner, or an orderly liquidation.
The process also requires you to consider what would happen in the event of your death or if disability precedes your planned exit.
Simply knowing the process, however, is not enough. To succeed, you need a written plan that sets out your exit objectives and documents how you are going to achieve those objectives. In addition, a checklist that assigns responsibility for each task to be completed, sets a date for the task to be completed, and designates the person responsible for completing that task is extremely useful.