Do you have an Exit Strategy?

Did you know that the question mark “?” is the most powerful punctuation symbol in all languages? Its true! You see, the ? is the key to all learning and knowledge expansion. It is by asking questions that we are able to unlock the secrets to many mysteries of life, solve countless problems, and achieve our worthwhile goals. One of the most important questions to ask yourself as soon as possible in life is – What is my Exit Strategy? This question is important regardless of whether you are an entrepreneur who owns his or her own business, or you are employed in some career or profession. If you are a business owner, knowing the answer to this question as early as possible in the development of your business, before you begin would be great - is an absolute necessity. Why? Because the absolute worst time to think about your exit strategy is when you are ready, or need to exit! Take it from me; I know the truth of this statement first hand – news at 11:00pm – stay tuned…

Yesterday I was purchasing some logo embroidered clothing from a merchant for one of my children when I struck up a conversation with the shop owner (let’s call him John). It seems that John’s shop actually manufacturers the clothing by embroidering the logos onto various garments. They do an outstanding and high quality job of this and had an impressive display of logos that they have done over 23 years in the business. As the conversation progressed, I could tell that the “thrill had gone” from the business for John. He began to explain how the business had tanked from a high of twenty six team members and several million dollars a year in gross sales, to two employees in addition to himself, and far less in gross revenue as a result of the recession. He expressed how after 23 years he was exhausted and wanted out.

Not appearing to be that old, I mused that he must have started the business when he was in high school, to which he responded, “I did!”. Then John related an exciting story of how the business grew from the humble beginnings in his parents’ garage, and how much fun and good fortune he had experienced along the way. Then he described how he had burned out, how he was really exhausted and just wanted to exit. The only problem is, John stated, that the current economy is the absolute worst time to exit (an epiphany to John). He was stuck, out of steam, and in a situation where he was facing the reality of exiting the business with very little to show for 23 years of hard work.

John is a perfect example of someone who failed to establish an exit strategy for this stage of his career, and is now paying the price – exciting business entrepreneur turned indentured servant. What’s worse, other than simply walking away, he doesn’t even have the energy to seek out a methodology to sell the business for what little he could get out of it.

Can you relate to this story? Are you stuck in a dead in job with no consciousness of how to get out into something more in line with your long term objectives? Are you like John with no clear date by which you plan to redeem your time by retiring, and the level of asset accumulation that will be required to allow you to continue living at the level you desire? Remember, there is urgency for all of us (if you don’t believe me just add 100 to your birthday to find the date by which there is 99% probability that your life will be over). John has other things that inspire him, other things that he wants to pursue, but he has failed to ask himself (and answer) the one question that would have enabled him to end his business career in the custom embroidering business on a high note – What is my Exit Strategy? And given the 7 year business cycles, when should I time my exit to take away the maximum benefit from my labors?

Don’t make the same mistake that John made, or that I made for that matter the first time around when I started and ran the company InER-G Solutions, Ltd. Stop right now and ask yourself the following question – What is my Exit Strategy?

If you would like to gain more insights into the answers to this question, mark your calendar and plan to join me on Monday evening September 14^th at the Biltmore Hotel for the next Goal Acheiver’s Knowledge Expansion Session – What’s My Exit Strategy? Registration details will be posted tomorrow.

Cheers,

Mark J.