The Best Time to Plan to Exit your Business

When you buy it/create it.

Second best time - Now.

So many owners spend their adult lives building and growing their business with no exit plan. Suddenly they are in the twilight of their life - they want to travel, relax, pursue a hobby, do charity work, paint, write....yet they have no plan on how to exit.

If you have not begun to plan your exit - now is the best time to start. Are you passing it on to a family member? Or a trusted senior employee? Or will you sell it on the open market? Is the Family member ready? Are you such an integral part of the success of your business to the extent that your not being there adversely affects its profitability? What have you done to train someone to fill your shoes? How have you structured the ownership of your business so that it limits the tax consequences of selling? Have you taken the necessary steps to enhance the value of your business? How are you going to value your business? Market value? Assest Based? ROI? Cash flow? Multiple of earnings? Capitalization of earnings?

Now is the time to plan your exit.