Did you know that the quality of your exit planning determines if you live the life of your dreams or not?
When you started your business, you left nothing to chance. Instead, you put everything on the line to ensure your business was a success.
Why is it that most business owners leave it to chance when it comes to life after the sale of the business?
Don’t believe for a moment that the skills that built your business are the same ones you need to sell it.
Your future buyers hope that you make many mistakes. Every mistake you make lines your future buyer’s pocket with your hard-earned money.
Who am I, and how do I know?
I was that kid who started his eLearning business out of school with no money, experience, or team. I had no business being in business, and the results showed.
My grit and passion kept me in the game long enough to experience success. With success came an unsolicited offer from an experienced, smart, and sophisticated buyer.
The buyer was a wolf in sheep’s clothing. I said “no” to the buyer’s 7-figure unsolicited offer based on three times EBITDA.
At the same time, I said “yes” to mastering the art and science of selling a business. Two years later, I said “yes” to a different buyer with a 9-figure offer based on 13-times EBITDA.
I increased my business valuation 10X even though it was the same business.
The quality of my exit planning made all the difference.
How did I achieve these results?
Keep reading to find out.
Exit Planning Tip 1: Don’t Believe For A Moment That Your Business Is Too Small To Sell
Belief is the ignition switch that gets you off the launching pad – Denis Waitley
When it comes to exit planning, don’t fall into the trap of believing that your business is too small to sell.
Your inner beliefs about you and your business have a direct effect on the future of your business.
Believing your business is too small is a great excuse not to do any exit planning.
As a result, you spend your time working on the business instead of in the business.
Congratulations, you’ve now put yourself in the center of everything. Your time is not your own, and you get dragged into one small detail after another.
Have your business run without and claim back your time. With your extra time, you can find and create a market disruption.
Read “Why You Need To Create Market Disruption To Lead, Succeed, And Prosper.”
What’s the big deal about creating a market disruption?
Everything.
Creating a market disruption means you’re looking for problems you’re passionate about solving. These problems are painful for your customers who will pay you to take their pain away.
You started your business by find and solving a painful problem you were passionate to solve. But this is the start and not the beginning.
Creating a market disruption has your company grow along with your profit and value.
The truth is you can’t afford to have you running your business. The bigger truth is that your future buyer will insist your business runs without you.
Whether you’ve started your business today, or you’ve had it for years, the best time to do your exit planning is now.
Exit Planning Tip 2: Stop Believing That You Have No Choice But To Work For The New Owner
Freedom cannot be bestowed – it must be achieved – Elbert Hubbard
Do you believe you’ll have to work for a new owner when you sell your business?
If you said “yes,” you’re not alone.
Most business owners start a business to create a lifestyle. You enjoy answering to yourself and choosing what you do and don’t do.
Believing you have to work for a new owner, and you’ll hate it, is not a reason to skip exit planning.
For starters, if you follow Exit Planning Tip 1 and ensure your business runs without you.
Read “Why You’ll Be Happier And Richer When Your Company Runs Without You.”
During the exit process, you can make it clear that you won’t stay on after the exit.
Most buyers will stay at the table because your business doesn’t need you.
And what makes you think that your future buyer wants you to stay around?
Seasoned buyers know your motivation and thoughts will be elsewhere after the exit. After all, you have all those zeroes in the bank.
At the same time, what if you stayed on with the new buyer to grow the business and sell it a second time?
I’ve spoken with many happy business owners who have stayed on to sell their business many times.
Many of these business owners made more money on the second or third sale of their business than the first.
You don’t know what you don’t know.
Solid exit planning gives you a choice. Choice gives you options.
Keep your business forever, or sell it tomorrow.
Do you know one of the biggest and costliest mistakes most business owners make?
Keep reading.
Exit Planning Tip 3: Why Bother Exit Planning When Your Future Buyer Will Find You?
He who fails to plan, plans to fail – Emily Giffin
Why bother exit planning when your future buyer will find and buy your company?
Most business owners dream of the day when of receiving an unsolicited offer to get bought out.
Sounds like a great plan to retire rich and happy, right?
Not a chance.
Exit Planning Tip 3 is one of the biggest and harmful myths business owners believe.
Read “How To Avoid Committing The Worst Mergers And Acquisitions Mistakes.”
Have you ever wondered why unsolicited offers are popular with buyers?
Unsolicited offers allow a buyer to save millions of dollars when buying a company.
It’s great for the buyer and terrible for you as the business owner. The money saved by the buyer is your hard-earned money.
If you want to retire rich and happy, you must ensure that you receive the highest valuation.
The more exit planning you do, the more you set yourself up for success with a higher valuation.
It’s your exit planning that has you create your exit team, prepare your company, and run an auction.
Don’t fall into the trap of believing that you’ll save time and money by waiting for an unsolicited offer.
Exit planning increases your business value and has you ask one crucial question. Do you know what the question is?
Keep reading.
Exit Planning Tip 4: The One And Only Question You Must Ask Before Selling Your Business
Living your purpose is key to a successful, happy, and fulfilled life – Jeffrey Feldberg
Exit planning gives you the key to your happiness and freedom.
Exit planning has you ask the only question that you must ask before selling your business: “Now what?”
Read and prosper from “Revealed: The Only Question To Ask Before Selling Your Business.”
Imagine for a moment that you’ve sold your business and have financial freedom. You buy your toys and travel the world.
It’s not long before one luxury hotel looks like another. The expensive toys you bought no longer have your heart skip a beat. And to your surprise, all beaches look the same.
Believe it or not, lunch is the highlight of your day.
Admit it. You’re bored.
What do you do?
Enter the only question, “now what?”
What will you do for the rest of your life that keeps you smiling and energized?
If you don’t have an answer, you’re not ready to sell your business. In this scenario, exit planning does two crucial things for you.
First, exit planning saved you from making the biggest mistakes of your life. Second, exit planning now makes it clear why you must grow your business to ensure it’s around for many years.
By the way, it’s continual exit planning that will have you know when you are ready to sell your business.
On the flip side, if you have an answer to the “now what?” question that has you energized, congratulations. You’re ready to continue the exit planning process to plan out the sale of your business.
At the simplest of levels, do you know what exit planning will do for you?
Keep reading.
Exit Planning Tip 5: Why Exit Planning Unlocks The Highest Value For Your Business
Exit planning, like compound interest, creates massive value – Jeffrey Feldberg
Are you still having doubts about exit planning for you and your business?
Here’s something to think about when it comes to mergers and acquisitions. Depending on the source, anywhere from 70% to 90% of business exits fail.
Read and prosper from “What You Need To Know About Why Most Business Exits Fail.”
In other words, even at the best of times, the odds are against you when selling your business.
Now you begin to understand why selling a business is as much art as it is science.
Why does exit planning give you an edge?
Three words.
Prepare, prepare, and prepare.
Victory goes to those who prepare the best, even if your exit doesn’t happen the first time.
Ready to learn an insider secret from the world of mergers and acquisitions?
The strategies that help you exit your business are the same ones to grow your business.
Exit planning, when done right, has you:
- Surround yourself with a talented exit team
- Due diligence helps you find and resolve business blind spots
- Optimize your business for growth and profits
- Sets you up to find and conquer new markets
- Prepared for today and the future
All things considered, the time and effort spent on exit planning is a rounding error. Exit planning gives you massive benefits and choices.
Keep your growing and profitable business forever, or sell it tomorrow. The choice is yours.
Conclusion
Do you want to live the life of your dreams?
Put in the time and effort with exit planning to unlock your future, starting today.
When done right, exit planning is like compound interest and creates massive value.
Exit planning gives you choices.
Keep your thriving and profitable business forever, or sell it tomorrow. The strategies are the same.
You choose from this win-win scenario.
Who am I, and how do I know?
Most business owners believe that the skills that built their business are the same ones to sell it. I was no exception.
I said “no” to an unsolicited offer based on 7-figures and three times EBITDA. At the same time, I said “yes” to mastering the art and science of selling a business.
Two years later, I said “yes” to a different buyer with a 9-figure offer based on 13-times EBITDA.
I increased my company value 10X even though it was the same company offering the same service.
How did I do it?
Exit planning.
Fast forward to today. I created a system that helps business owners do two things. First, protect themselves on the exit, and second, increase the business valuation.
What can you do, and where do you start?
Start with the first exit planning strategy and master it. When you’re ready, move on to the next exit planning strategy. Before you know it, you’ll master all five exit planning strategies.
You can do it. I know you can.
Here’s to you and your success.
Your Biggest Raving Fan,
Jeffrey Feldberg
Today, Feldberg's passion is helping you extract your deep wealth. The 90-day Deep Wealth Mastery program helps create a solid foundation for three areas: increasing profits to enterprise value and optimizing post-exit life. Deep Wealth Mastery offers strategies and insights drawn from Feldberg's rich experience. The strategies from the trenches get results. Jeffrey's vision is to increase the social fabric of society one entrepreneur at a time.
Learn more through https://iapdw.com/prosper
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