The Private Business Owner

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Exiting Your Business When The “Time is Right”

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I frequently encounter small business owners who tell me that they plan on exiting their business when the “time is right.” When I ask them when that will be, they invariably indicate that the right time to enter the sales process will be at the peak of the next M&A cycle. When asked about how they will know when the peak has arrived, I usually get blank stares or they say they will hear about it in the media or better yet, from their Uncle Larry, the part-time business broker-pool man.

The fact is no one can accurately predict the peak of the next M&A cycle. We are really good at predicting two things: when the cycle has turned up (which it did starting mid-2010) and when we are past the peak and the market is declining (hopefully that won’t be for awhile). History tells us that the optimal time to find a premium buyer for your business is at the beginning of the M&A recovery cycle. That is typically when buyers are most active and good deals are relatively scarce, which can contribute to favorable valuations. [Read more…]

Exit Planning for Privately Held Businesses

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You’ve heard it said: “The only sure things in life are death and taxes.”  A truthful addendum to this for the private business owner that is equally sure is that at some point you will be exiting your business.  No matter how much you love your business; there will come a time when the time will come.  Some business owners will retire as they’ve always envisioned, while others will be forced to accelerate retirement due to unforeseen medical issues.  Some business owners will notice changes in the market or industry that will begin to take their toll while some will pass the business along to a family member or a loved one as planned. No matter the specific circumstance that will motivate the exit, the business owner must be ready when the time comes. In the same manner that you keep your receipts when preparing to file for taxes, you must also prepare in advance for exiting your business.

Unlike selling a home, the 12-18 month process for selling a business has to start with the valuation process.  One of the key takeaways a business owner will get from the valuation process is that their revenue and business model might not be what buyers are looking for.  To attract a serious buyer it might take a year or more to grow revenues, transition revenues into strategic forms, or other strategies to successfully complete an exit plan.  For example, a multi-city Air Conditioning Repair company might be doing $5 million in revenues.  However, more attractive than $5M in revenue that is derived from residential customers who call when something breaks is $5M in revenue which 20% is based upon commercial contracts, 30% is based on residential maintenance plans, and the remaining 50% is based on new business which is derived from a variety of cost effective marketing which includes Internet marketing, etc.  See the difference?  One offers great value where another offers great value with strategic diversity.

In order to help you prepare, we’ve listed five fundamental steps to preparing your exit strategy:
  1. Define Post-Business Objective – The first step of exit planning is the definition of your objective. What are your plans once your business has sold? This objective will drive the exit planning process.  The owner will need to decide how much profit he or she needs to make out of the sale of the business in order to achieve an ideal outcome.
  2. Financial Planning – Once you have determined your primary objective, you are ready to begin to prepare the financials for the future sale.  During this portion, the owner and professional advisors will begin to look at the cash flow and profitability of the business.  The current value of the business will be assessed including all assets.  Once the financials of the business have been assessed, there will be a thorough review conducted of the business, and of its value drivers.
  3. Management Transition – Whether or not you are planning to sell to a third party or to an insider will determine how you manage the transition in your exit planning process.  Is it transferred to a third party or to an insider?  This will determine how to plan for their exit. Often times if an owner is planning to sell to an insider who may not have sufficient personal capital, the owner may need to have an alternate plan in order to still receive maximum value at closing.
  4. Contingency Plan – With every good exit plan, there needs to be a well thought out contingency plan.  Risks must be assessed.  Some risks include: potential litigation, large portions of revenue in the hands of a few clients, liabilities, employee risks and others.
  5. Personal Estate Planning – The final stage of an exit planning process is your personal estate planning. Certainly not the most exciting portion of the process, but critical to a successful plan is planning where your money and assets will go if something were to happen and you were to pass away earlier than expected. SmartMoney offers helpful solutions for personal estate planning.
An exit plan is critical and hiring a professional as an advisor during the process will increase the accuracy of your plan.
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