Exit Ready

To build a profitable and sustainable business you first have to understand what drives growth and creates exit value.

Begin with the end in mind.

Defining the desired outcome is critical to the development of an exit strategy.

Before moving into the exit planning process, understand your fundamental objectives, specific financial goals and exit timeframe.

Sever your emotional connection to your business to see the business for what it really is: an asset.

Potential buyers are looking for an opportunity that will deliver above average returns and in a crowded marketplace, your business will need to exhibit strong appeal to achieve your desired exit outcome.

To be exit-ready requires attention and action in some key areas:

Succession The identification, recruitment and integration of a competent leader to take over the running of the business.
Principal dependence. Each business relies on its current owner for revenue generation, operational management and inspiration, but these should be eliminated as much as possible in considering exit-strategies.
Clean financials. Achieving bullet-proof financials is a critical component of the plan, as it will make the exit process far easier.
Operational efficiency
The development and documentation of core operating processes and procedures is imperative for building a sustainable organisation.
Securing Intellectual Property Ensure contracts are in place, ownership of intangible assets is formalised (i.e. through copyright, patents, trademarks, domain names, business names) and knowledge is captured and retained.

The exit plan also takes into consideration the preferred exit mechanism, be that a trade sale, Initial Public Offering (IPO)or a management buy-out (MBO). Each option has its advantages and drawbacks, price limitations and timeframes, which all need to be taken into consideration when defining the strategy.