For Every Business Owner
Who Deserves The Ultimate Pay Day
ATTENTION BUSINESS OWNERS:
Do You Have An Exit Strategy?
Would You Like To Sell Your Business One Day?
How Much Is Your Business Worth and …
Will Someone Buy It?
For Business Owners who want to maximise the sale value of their
business, retire with more cash in the bank… and enjoy more
lifestyle choices… the time to act is now!
Business Succession Planning
Getting ready to hand over your business to somebody else when you’re ready to retire from it is a really big step. It’s one you can’t take lightly, and you need to be fully prepared.
Having a sensible exit strategy in place is vital for any small business owner, and often even for owners of larger businesses. The main difference is that a large business can sustain itself quite well even without the owner being involved in the day to day running of it, while most small businesses will quickly fold without someone competently steering the ship.
A good exit strategy is not just a decision about who will take over the business, but also knowing that this is the right decision, and you also have some other important choices to make as well.
Business succession is not just a matter of handing over the keys
To properly transition your business to another person, you should be properly prepared for what this is going to mean for you personally.
Your business has most likely been a part of your life for a long time already, and cutting all ties with it can be surprisingly more difficult emotionally than many people expect it to be. It can also make a big difference to your income.
One of the most important decisions you will need to make, therefore, is whether you still want to have a stake in the business after you leave it. This means that you still retain a share in the business, but it can also sometimes mean more than that depending on your intentions.
For example, you might want only to continue earning some income from the business to help support your lifestyle. This is the easiest way of keeping a stake in the business because you don’t want to retain active participation or active management of the business. You simply need to decide how much of a share will be enough to meet your needs and set things up accordingly.
If, on the other hand, you want to have some say in the running of the business, even after you have left it, then it gets a bit more complicated. To be entirely certain that you can have not just a say but also the power to enforce your own decisions, you’ll need to retain at least a 51 percent share of the business.
Keep in mind, however, that your successors may resent it if you do this, and may feel that you haven’t really given them a fair chance to be successful on their own merits. You will have to think carefully about such a decision, taking into account the personalities of the different people involved.
If you are depending on income from the business to help you sustain yourself in your retirement and you are not 100 percent confident in the ability of your successor to effectively manage the business and keep it running profitably, you may need to set sentiment aside and ensure you have sufficient leverage in the business to take executive control.
Just because it’s your own business doesn’t mean it’s free
Making changes to the structure of your business normally involves some formality, and even if it is a family run business, you may still have to formally register the changes at a government office and you may have to pay some fees to make structural changes.
Don’t forget to plan ahead for these fees, because the last thing you really want is the door hitting you on the way out.
It’s also important to make sure that these changes are registered appropriately because when you leave the business, if you haven’t done things by the book, you are still legally responsible for everything the business does, no matter how awful the consequences may be.
In the worst case scenario, you could be left facing criminal charges for the actions of a business that you had no active participation in. Believe it or not, this kind of thing has already happened, and is not even a rare occurrence.
For your own safety and peace of mind, it’s always best to make sure everything is done properly and legally when you exit a business, no matter what the circumstances may be.
You don’t have to make all these decisions entirely alone. The Exit Strategy Group has expert consultants available to help you, and you can book a free consultation to help you make a start in your business succession planning.
Make no mistake, succession planning for small business owners is vital if they want to be sure of not failing in their goals. With help from The Exit Strategy Group you will be able to make more confident decisions, because you’ll know you haven’t neglected anything in your planning.
Business succession planning is important for all business types, but especially for the family business. When formulating succession plans for a family business, it is important to remember that there is a distinction between ownership and executive control.
Painful as it may be to admit, your own family members are not always the most appropriate people to assume executive control.
Small Business Succession Planning
When you have a small business that is not a family business, there are different considerations that will be active in your small business succession planning.
In this case, you’ll mainly wanting to be thinking about things like:
- Do you intend to derive a portion of your retirement income from the business?
- Do you want to retain any executive control?
- Do you want to remain the majority shareholder?
- Are you prepared to continue accepting liability on behalf of the business?
These are just a few of the many considerations that are very important in succession planning for small business owners.
As you can see, there is quite a lot of work involved, and this work should not be avoided because mistakes in succession planning can be very costly later on.
Business Succession Planner
The good news is you don’t have to take on this burden all by yourself. The Exit Strategy Group provides a service as a business succession planner in Melbourne.
Succession planning for Melbourne businesses are made easier with help from our expert advisors. We will work with you to assess the key points of your business exit strategy, your goals, and the state of your business as it currently stands.
Once a clear picture of your intentions is formalised, it is a simple process to develop a succession plan that will fit your needs.
All business types can benefit from business succession planning, but it’s most important for family businesses.
If you’re not intending to sell or wind up the business upon retiring, knowing how you’re going to pass the torch, and to whom, is where succession plans help avoid problems, conflicts, and mistakes.
Everything you need to know about succession planning
In either case, it is essential to have help from an expert in small business succession planning. Don’t overlook this important step, because you need insight from somebody who isn’t involved in the business, with no stake in it. This is absolutely an essential step in succession planning for small business owners.
To get help with your succession planning in Melbourne, consult The Exit Strategy Group. You won’t find a better business succession planner in Melbourne.
Most people put off thoughts of succession planning until it’s almost time for them to retire. Don’t make this classic mistake and you won’t have to deal with the classic consequences.
During your consultation, the consultant should be trying to help you find the answer to one very important question, which is “What is it you really want?”
You’d be surprised how often business owners get close to the point of retiring and haven’t really thought about this question. Finding the answer to it is what is necessary before the business succession can be planned.
Once you’re aware of your wishes, it is then a matter of articulating them in a way that ensures they’ll be legally enforceable when the day comes that you’re actually ready to hand over the reins.
The Exit Strategy Group is ready to help you with all your succession planning needs. Call today to find out more about the many ways our service can help you.
The Exit Strategy Group can assist in working out how to calculate what your business is worth, how to value your business, business succession planning, how to sell a small business and transition planning.
In this breakthrough book, you will discover there’s more to a profitable
exit strategy than just selling your business…with answer to these and
many more myths believed by countless business owners :
Myth #1: I don’t need an exit strategy until I’m ready to sell my business
Myth #2: I can’t afford to dedicate the time involved with exit planning
Myth #3: The wealth of my business is defined by how much I earn
Myth #4: If I have a growth strategy, why do I need an exit strategy?
Kerry Boulton, CEO and Founder of The Exit Strategy Group and NEXUS Business
Coaching, is Australia’s most respected exit strategy advisor. With over 20 years in
business as an entrepreneur, transformative coach and consultant, sought-after
speaker and talented facilitator, Kerry wrote The Uncensored TRUTH About Exit
Strategies to help as many business owners as she can to monetise the wealth that’s lying in their businesses.
The Uncensored TRUTH About Exit Strategies details how to build a strong and
successful exit plan, which is an absolute must if you want to get full value from
any sale. Kerry exposes and debunks many myths and gives you practical advice. She
walks you through what most people don’t know – or refuse to believe – about the
process of planning their exit.
Kerry believes exit planning is a process, not a destination. She helps you overcome
challenges you’re likely to face as a business owner and most important, the steps to
ensure you find financial freedom and do not become just another statistic.
The Cold Hard Facts You NEED to Know If You Want To Sell Your Business Someday
81% of Australian business owners plan to retire in the next 10 years
53% of them have no exit strategy
22% will shut shop*
How To Increase The Value of Your Business By Up To 71%* In Just 24 Months …and Have the Biggest Pay Day of Your Life
*Based on actual client results to date
Are you ready for the huge wave of business sales looming on the horizon and a lot of potential competition? Buyers will be picking and choosing only the best. Email info@TheExitStrategyGroup.com.au and ask for your FREE Value Builder Report.
AND…when you order your FREE copy of my book, The Uncensored Truth About Exit Strategies” you’ll find out …
…there’s a lot more to your Exit Strategy
than a succession plan or just selling your business…
You’ve worked hard for years building your business. You know how much value you’ve created and it’s worth plenty to someone who can take it to the next level.
The question is – how do you even start thinking about your exit plan when you aren’t anywhere near ready to exit or sell your business?
The gap between the idea of selling – or creating any sort of succession plan – and actually getting the deal on the table on your terms and at the time you want – can be very wide and very deep.
The fact is…only 20% of business owners who say they plan to sell their business ever make it their ultimate pay day.
That’s a very sobering statistic. Will you be in the 20% who do?
Many business owners simply don’t know what they need to know to prepare for succession, transition of ownership and exit. Exit strategies are not just about making money, Business owners often have other goals such as establishing a legacy, ensuring the business remains in their family, or continuing to have a say in what happens in the business.
…No matter what exit strategy you choose – you can guarantee your best outcome by simply this: PLANNING IN ADVANCE. There are immediate benefits to getting started preparing your exit strategy. You don’t have to wait for the exit date before claiming more of your wealth!
Exit strategies are something every investor looks for… The questions are the same – no matter what the size of the business. How am I going to get my money out?And how much are you going to get as the owner?
Having an exit strategy worked out in advance helps ensure you like the answers to those questions and gives you some control over your business’s future.