Exiting Your Business
Succession planning for your business
Your exit strategy can create tools for you in your business. When you weigh different approaches, courses of action, or expenditures, it’s very useful to know where, ultimately, you want your business to end up.
As strange as it sounds, one of the best things you can do before you start your business is to come up with an exit strategy. This strategy is as much a part of your vision as your goals and priorities are. Developing an exit strategy gives you clarity about how long you want to be in business and how the business needs to grow and develop in order for you to leave it with a sense of accomplishment and completion.
Consider these options:
- Allow family members to take over or consider an employee buy-out
- Acquisition or merger – consider a larger company to acquire your share of the market, products or expertise
- Issue shares by going public to raise money by selling some of your business without entirely giving up control
Going out of business can be the easiest solution but is rarely the preferred option and can sometimes happen by default because you did not create an exit strategy.
For more information about valuing and selling your business, view our Resources for Buying or Selling a Business.