Exit Plan

I really don't want to start this book off in a negative mind space but lets be real for a minute, selling your baby is not going to be fun. No matter how you feel about your business right now, the process of exiting is not simple, it's not linear, and it can be an emotional roller coaster. So before we get into all the details of what to do and how to do it, lets talk about whether you really want to do it at all first, now lay down on the couch and lets go back to the beginning where it all started. We all love our business, no matter how annoying it is today, how much stress it's caused or how horrible some of your customers are, we love it deep down. It might not be a healthy love, it might be a terrible relationship that others don't understand, it might even be downright bad for you, but you are in love. Or at least you were at some point. The reason it's important to acknowledge these feelings is that you will never have this exact feeling again, the process and situation that led to this business won't happen again. You may start another business or buy another business or join another business but the magic you feel for this business won't be repeated. It's worth thinking about that for a moment. You are entering the unknown Unless you are one of the very few people who have built and sold multiple businesses, and there really are only a few, then this is unknown territory for you. We can all imagine what it might be like selling our business, but like all things, what we imagine rarely meets with the actual real world version. While you can research and talk to others and prepare yourself as much as possible it's good to acknowledge that this is an unknown road ahead and that's ok. We don't need to 'know' what is going to happen but because this is such a big step it can feel like you might want all the answers before you start. Now don't get me wrong, in terms of the money and terms you really do want all the answers before you sign it away. But in terms of how you feel and what it all means to your life, those around you and the future, you really won't have all the answers and you need to be ok with that before this journey starts. There will be many personal questions you just can't answer right now and if that's ok then keep reading and hopefully we can answer some of them and make you feel ok about the ones you can't. You're isolated As all business owners know, owning and running a business is a very isolated position. Even if you have a supportive wife/husband/family/partner you are still isolated and everything falls to you at the end of the day. You will never feel this more pointedly than in the process of selling your business. Everyone will have an opinion and no doubt lots of helpful advice, but at the end of the day it all comes down to you and what you decide. Telling you not to rush into the process sounds pretty basic but it's really true, there are lots of traps and issues you will find along the way and because you are so isolated it's important to take your time and process the information, see how it sits in you and then make decisions. Pro tip here, if the buyer is trying to rush you this should set off alarm bells, most business sales take between 6 and 12 months and that's just fine. You have time so make sure you use it. Over 10 years of running our business I learned how to trust my instincts which is not always easy but will serve you well in the exit process. Sometimes the 'logical' choice isn't the right choice and you need to fell confident in your instincts when you make those calls. A good example of this for us was deciding to take the lesser offer from our employee rather than going to the open market. This was an instinctual call that turned out to be perfect for us but wasn't necessarily logical.