The best time to figure out your exit plan is when you start your business. The next best time to figure out your exit plan is today.
At Leading Edge Growth, we use the ExitMap planning process. We have access to a whole program of checklists and assessments that help the business owners we’re working with put together a plan of transitioning their business, whether or not they need to transition right away—which hopefully isn’t the case—or 5 to 20 years in the future.
In terms of having a transition plan, Your Exit Map: Navigating the Boomer Bust is a really good book. It discusses how selling a business in the next 5 to 10 years will be an uphill battle because of the amount of businesses owned by Boomers coming up for sale. Many business owners who started a business in the rough job market post-graduation are also reaching the stage of life where it’s time to pass the torch by selling the business, transitioning to the next generation, and grooming new leaders within the business.
However that transition is going to happen for you, it takes preparation. One of the best things about this program with the ExitMap that we utilize is that I’m happy to extend this to you for free. Just take the assessment below, and then we can set up a time to go through it together. This will give you a view of how realistic your intentions of selling are or how prepared your business is for selling or transitioning.
The worst time to do a valuation is when you’re actually in the process of selling your business, because there are a lot of things that come up that you might not expect. These can totally kill the deal upfront, and that’s why a little bit of preparation goes a long way in transitioning your business.