Exit Strategy Elements

Exit Strategy Elements

There are four primary elements in developing your exit strategy:

  1. What are your objectives?: What is your time frame for selling the business? Do you have legacy considerations to address? What are the implications for the type of deal being contemplated?
  2. Business Assessment: Conduct a mini due diligence engagement to assess the opportunities  and challenges of the business from a buyer’s point of view. Determine the most likely deal structure and type of buyer.
  3. Gap Analysis: Determine the gap between the likely selling price and the desired sales price and determine how to bring the two together.
  4. Plan Implementation: Develop a plan to implement the needed changes, assess the alternatives, and then implement the plan.
Keep in mind that all businesses can be made attractive to buyers with proper exit planning. The last few years of your ownership should be approached with the same intensity as the first year or two of your ownership.