The statistics surrounding business survival today make for fairly grim reading. Around 80% of businesses don’t make it through their first five years. Of those that do, a further 80% will fold within the following five years. There may be many different reasons for this but a common theme often emerges – losing sight of the ultimate end goal. Building a business can often be chaotic and stressful and in that kind of an environment it’s very easy to get caught up in the day-to-day demands of the business and leave it directionless as a result. However, this lack of planning can quickly lead to even the most promising business becoming a rather depressing statistic.

What does the end goal actually look like?

When you start a business you will probably have a very clear idea of what you want that business to look like once it’s up and running. However, that’s often where many business owners stop. It becomes more pressing to deal with daily needs and management tasks than to continue looking ahead and keeping an eye on the future. Ultimately, this often means that you become an employee of the business rather than the business being a tool in your own life – it can start to feel like a trap rather than a vehicle for success. One definition of success is that, one day, the business will be able to function and grow without your input – it’s at that point that it becomes an asset that you can use to really enhance your life.

Looking forward – to the exit

Most business owners rarely think about a point in the future when they aren’t going to be working within that business – until that point is virtually upon them. This can lead to a chaotic situation in which desired value is rarely achieved. That’s why it pays to start thinking now about where you want the business to be when the time comes for you to move on from it. If you’re aiming towards this end goal then there are a number of key questions that need to be answered.

  • What do you want the business to look like at the point at which you move on from it?
  • How do you view your exit from the business? Options here might include selling the business on for a profit, passing it on to your family, or building the business to a point of self sufficiency that allows you to go off and do other things while it continues to thrive and grow.
  • If you want to sell, can you put a number on what you’d need to achieve from the sale of the business to enable you to go on comfortably to what you want to do next?

At first it may seem odd to integrate your exit from the business into plans for growth. However, the earlier you begin to think about this the easier it will be to ensure that the business develops in a way that helps you to achieve the end goal that you want.

If this sounds like something you would be looking to plan for, get in touch.