Once you know what you want from the business you built, you will be able to choose one of these exit strategies.

I once build a vending machine business. It was going well and my customers appreciated me and my products.  Then my husband came home one day and asked if I would be willing to relocate to South Africa for his business.  I’ve always had wanderlust, so it was not difficult to agree.  Suddenly it was time to exit my business.  I had a few choices of strategies.

Liquidation:

This is the process of closing the shop and, hopefully, selling the assets.  This is the only option for the LuLuRoe associates with basements full of poor-quality merchandise. Though selling poor quality merchandise is not an option for entrepreneurs who value their reputations.

It was also not a promising option for my vending machine business as vending machines stored in a garage have very little value.  The value for my business was the location.

Pass it on to someone:

This is how family businesses are built but, the difficulties with keeping it in the family: in fighting, choosing the right person, lack of interest, are the stuff of television drama.

I tried to pass my business on to others but found the likely candidates did not have the money to acquire a business.

Sell your business:

If you’ve done a good job a building a solid business system and you’ve kept good records showing you have sustainable profits, selling your business is a good plan. However, to have a valuable asset to sell, you will need to begin planning long before you are ready to sell.

In my case, I had used a bookkeeper every month to capture my income and expenses, produce a profit and loss statement and keep me up to date on all taxes and fees.  This strong paper trail gave me the proof a buyer needed to see to be able to see the potential of my business. Knowing the documented truth of the profits the business generated each month enabled us both to set a reasonable price.

It Is Hard to Let Go

I will admit it was not easy to turn my business, something good I built from scratch, over to another. Fortunately, I had an exciting adventure ahead of me. I moved away to Africa and was never tempted to look back to see how his management of my business fared. He did well, I hope.

Selling your business may be far in the future but it is something you should consider as you are building.  Knowing the end before you begin is a sign of strong business leadership.

Photo by Austin Distel on Unsplash