Rise Above the Excuses for not Planning Your Business Exit
In the last issue (#44), we emphasized It’s Never too Early to Start Planning Your Business Exit. In this issue we encourage you to Rise Above the Excuses for not Planning Your Business Exit.
"Ninety-nine percent of the failures come from people who have the habit of making excuses." George Washington
Rise Above the Excuses for not Planning Your Business Exit
You cannot afford excuses. There is too much at stake – your financial freedom, your family’s security and your legacy. You cannot afford to not spend the time, resources and effort to plan for what is (usually) the once-in-a-lifetime process of selling your business. Although it is a rewarding event, it is the preparatory process that allows you to experience the success of the event. Simply stated, you need to start the planning process as soon as possible. If you do, as discussed in the last issue, you will see incremental rewards before the final payday.
You need to rise above the excuses for not planning your business exit. There’s too much at stake to do otherwise.
The third issue of this newsletter series included a list of reasons why business owners have not prepared a formal transition/succession plan. None of the reasons are acceptable excuses, but let’s examine a few of them. You can find the list and references to the sourced material in our newsletter article titled Issue #3 – Amazingly Poor Business Exit Planning Statistics.
Business exit planning identifies opportunities for improvement
Third on the list of business owner excuses for not planning their business exit was “too time consuming.” Fourth was “too complex, wouldn’t know where to begin.” Fifth was “no adequate advice/tools available.” That’s nonsense! Although business exit planning does involve a time commitment, most of the required time will be devoted to making incremental improvements in the business itself. As a business owner, you should be doing that anyway, and you will benefit from those changes well before you decide to sell. The business exit planning process helps identify opportunities for improvement and helps provide focus.
In response to excuses #4 and #5, yes, it is complex, and you should solicit the involvement of professionals in multiple disciplines. That’s exactly where you begin. And qualified professionals do have the knowledge, advice and tools to help you along the way. You just need to be the one to initiate the process.
You must face the inevitable
The seventh excuse on the list for not having a business exit plan was “can’t think of doing anything else.” Eighth was “don’t want to deal with family/employee issues.” Ninth was “the thought of it being the end.” While facing the inevitable may be daunting, unless you intend to die at your desk, you need to address these issues because they are not going away until you deal with them. Just do it! Excuses #7 through #9 are not justifiable reasons for not getting started in the business exit planning process – especially early on. If you are 40 years old and intend to retire at 60, quite possibly you’re not really sure what you would like to do at that time. Ideally, you would have some idea, but that shortcoming shouldn’t stop you from identifying obstacles and opportunities to improve your business as a result of exit planning.
Face your fears
In the previous issue of this newsletter we addressed the number one reason owners didn’t have an exit plan – “too early.” The second reason provided in the ROCG survey was the non-specific “other.” The ROCG white paper speculated that these were emotional fear factors such as: the fear of letting go; the fear of loss of wealth; the fear of loss of control; and the fear of conflict. It’s critical for you to get past the “fear of letting go,” and instead “let go of the fears.” Face them head on. Do something about them
You need to Rise Above the Excuses for not Planning Your Business Exit. There’s too much at stake to do otherwise.
"It is better to offer no excuse than a bad one." George Washington
Overcome the Power of Inertia
Overcome the Power of Inertia and call a business broker for a free consultation. Many brokers offer no-charge, no-obligation evaluations of small businesses. They can provide a broker opinion of value and help you identify obstacles to a successful sale as well as opportunities for improvement to increase the value of your business. That is a great way to start planning for a successful and profitable exit from your business.
