WHAT'S YOUR EXIT STRATEGY?

Someday you’ll leave your business – every business owner will.
Will you leave on your terms – when you want to or will you be pushed or carried out?


WHAT’S YOUR EXIT STRATEGY?
You have a range of choices.
You can ‘Die at your desk’ – you just keep working until the last ounce of energy leaves your body, and your heirs must pick up the pieces and close out the business.
Or you can just ‘Lock the door and walk away’ selling whatever you have left; plant, equipment and records often for pennies on the dollar. Minimal planning is needed to pull this one off!


THERE ARE TWO OTHER OPTIONS
Both of these oprions can enable you to ‘go out on top’ by selling the business when it has high value so you can harvest your investment and build a nest egg for the next phase of your life.
One transition option is an internal sale; you sell to your partners or management team. This option enables you to build an organization that is your legacy and gives you some input on who will carry your legacy forward. But you must select and develop your successors. And it may take several years for your buyers to complete the buyout.
Another transition option is an external sale to an outside third party. This can often be the most profitable because the buyers see a greater strategic value resulting from merging the two companies. Although finding the best buyer will take more time, completing the sale is usually faster than an internal sale.
The transition option you ultimately choose will depend on your answers to these questions:
• How can you maximize your return when you sell the business?
• Do you have potential buyers on staff; people who have the passion, skills, experience and financial resources to buy you out?
• Can you find external buyers who will pay you a premium?
• What do you want to do in the next phase of your life – after you sell your business?
• What is your time table – when do you want be free to move into your next phase?

HERE’S HOW I CAN HELP YOU.
Remember the old adage: Begin with the end in mind; What outcome do you want? Do you have an exit strategy to achieve that outcome?
My primary focus is helping business owners choose the future they want to create and guide them as the make the transition. It’s not retirement - an end; It’s a transition, beginning a new journey, one that can last decades.
In addition, if you intend an internal transfer, I can help you build the next generation of leaders/owners to carry your legacy forward.
Also, I can augment your team of legal and financial advisors to carry out your owner succession plan.
MY goal is to assist you in laying out your exit strategy well in advance of your needs with plenty of time to implement it in an effective, comprehensive manner.
I look forward to working with you to explore ways to help you lay out your exit strategy.

I invite you to visit my web site at: http://www.life-work-transitions.com/
Pete Wendel

Retirement Challenges Every Business Owner Must Face

Dilemma: A situation involving a choice between equally unsatisfactory alternatives.

Sooner or later, all business owners will face a time when they need to make decisions about their future – specifically their retirement. They love what they are doing but they recognize that ‘things are changing’ and they have to change, too. They want to stay but know they must step aside. They face two dilemmas.

One dilemma is the choice between staying with the business because they love what they are doing versus holding on for too long and stifling the company’s future, dragging it down, and burning up their personal net worth (retirement income) in the process.

Another dilemma is the choice between selling internally – to family, partners, staff – expecting to leave a legacy versus selling to an outside buyer, generating more retirement income but giving up hope for having an impact on the future of the company.

Resolving both dilemmas depends upon the selling owner making strategic decisions well in advance of the time when he or she must begin execution.

The issues are both personal and business related but the beginning point is personal. The seller’s personal decisions will provide the framework for the business decisions that will follow.

Both dilemmas are difficult to resolve unless the owner is willing to make and execute choices - to look forward, to create a new life that is as equally attractive and potentially satisfying as running the business. I call that “Building a boat to step onto before walking off the dock.”

Over the next several articles, we will look into these two dilemmas and explore strategies for business owners to resolve them – to make their “Grand Transition” into the “Third Phase” of their life.

RETIREMENT PLANNING FOR BUSINESS OWNERS

Next Tuesday March 2, Pete Wendel will be the featured speaker at the Niagara University Family Business monthly breakfast. His subject is "Business Owners - Are you prepared to retire?"
In this session he'll explore factors to consider in preparing yourself and your business for a successful transition into the 'Third Phase' of your life.
Successful transition is a long term process. Questions covered will include: Have you planned a meaningful life after work? Will your business continue? Will you be prepared financially?
.
There are a limited number of openings available for guests. To register go to www.niagara.edu/fbc. There is no charge.

Three Important Questions Before Retirement

I've been thinking a lot about business owners considering retirement who will be selling their business. There are, to me, three key questions that every business owner needs to address for their retirement to be successful:

1. Will I have the money I need to support the life I want to live after I retire? That involves money I have saved and invested, my retirement funds and the proceeds from the sale of my interest in the business.


2. Have I built a strong sustainable company that will continue after I move on? Have I developed the people with the passion and the competence to lead the business and hold to the values I instilled?


3. Have I chosen a meaningful life after work that I will move into? I know that successful retirement is not an ending, It's a transition into a different 'venue' - one that will give me satisfaction because I am doing something I love to do. To be successful I need to prepare for the 'Third Phase' of my life.

People who have answered these questions in a way that matches their aspirations can move on knowing that they can make a successful transition and leave a successful business as their legacy.Those who haven't are in danger of holding on too long and destroying the very business they spent their life to create.

What about you? Are your prepared for retirement? If you are in your late fifties or early sixties think long and hard about these questions as if your life depended on it. Because it does!