When you decide that it is time to go, what are your alternative courses of action? You can consider a number of creative and not so obvious means to enable you to gracefully exit the business. These include:

– outright sale
– sale to management
– family members take over the business
– strategic partnership
– succession planning (with sufficient time)

To consider the sale of the business you have toiled to build into a profitable venture and to embark on a sale strategy can be emotionally challenging. You should approach this decision with full intention and be sure that you are ready for the psychological challenges of leaving your business, not an insignificant challenge.

Under all of the above alternatives you should consider starting the exit process long before (5 years?) you actually leave. Why? To give you time to build the goodwill of the business and secure the best value for the business.

Some tips to building the business goodwill, which I have addressed in more detail in other blogs:

– write down your key policies and procedures
– define and measure your key performance indicators
– empower your key managers
– bolster your financial reporting systems

I hope this helps you as you reflect on your future plans.

Learn, think, apply!!