By Scott Balfour
Among other things, the purpose of a business is to provide the owner with a living while building equity. What I find all too often is that equity isn’t maximized. Sellers let their business slip before they decide to sell. On more than one occasion, I’ve said “I wish you had called me two years earlier.”
It is only natural; people put blood, sweat, tears, and money into their businesses. They get caught up in the day to day. Next, they become complacent or perhaps burnt out. They start to lose focus. They start thinking of an exit plan.
But before they know it, a year has passed, then another. All along, the business starts to lose its edge. Some of that previously hard-earned equity starts to slip away.
If you are beginning to think that sometime in the near future, you might want to exit/sell your business, act now. Go out in style! Go out with the hard-earned equity you have spent years building. Not only does the selling process take some time, but you will also still have the energy to “tweak” your business to present it in its best light.
Business owners work hard to build their business. They should also work hard in the final stage. They should do it while they have the time, money, health, and resources to do it properly, while they have the time and health to enjoy the fruits of their labor.
Money aside, the proper transition of a business provides for security for valued employees and continued quality of products/services that your customers have become to expect. The pride that can come from watching the business grow under new ownership is much like that of parents watching the kids as they go off on their own after graduation. If you are in the beginning stages of thinking about selling, act now, not two years from now.