Failing to Plan = Planning to Fail

There are many reason why business owners fail to deal with their exit planning. Here are some of them:

1. Indecision delays action. Most spend time trying to figure it out which ultimately leads to procrastination. 
2. It is not a priority right now. All seems fine right NOW. There is no need for any urgency. 
3. There is no clear vision. They have no idea what exit plan will look like for them. 
4. They are too busy working IN the business and has not put time aside to think about their exit strategy. 
5. They are afraid to address the question of “What is the value of the business” and “Is there someone out there who might buy/take over my business”?
6. Lack of understanding on the entire exit planning process. What is involved, who will be involved, what it will cost, how long will it take, etc. 
7. The owner assumes too much about the future of the business such as:
   • the business will be sold quickly;
   • their children will take over the business;
   • the business can be left to the surviving spouse;
   • the business can be sold to the employees;

I am sure that there are several more that can be stated here. My point however is that exit planning is still an area that most business owners know very little about, and are doing even less in trying to find out about it and get the process started. In my experience of selling businesses, we note that business owners who has completed some form of an exit plan, tends to the sell their business for a much better price and quickly. This is mainly because as part of the exit plan process they learn what they need to do to make the business more valuable. As part of the business exit plan we take the time to help business owners improve their business in the areas of Leadership, Marketing, Financial, Operations and Staffing. These are important areas that help a business grow and improve so that it can be positioned in the market as more attractive and valuable.  As the trend continues with more baby boomers exiting their business, the business that is presented more attractively in the market place will be the ones that will be sold faster and for higher price.