My Exit Strategy: My main goal with my business (at this
point in time) is to hold onto the business for no more than 10-15 years, after
which point, I would desire to sell it off to another firm/company/individual.
I would potentially have interest in being on the board of the company as an
advisor, but I wouldn’t want any big commitments per say.
My goal with this strategy is to milk the majority of growth
out of the firm, realize its potential, and acquire as much value and assets as
I can. I firmly believe that this is achievable within 10-15 years, and that
most of the growth beyond that will be slower paced.
One of the main reasons why I want to sell it off is so that
I can retire early on in life. This is due to the things that I value in life:
family, experiences, and growing in all areas of life. It’s one of my major goals
to retire at a young age (before 50, perhaps even around 40) so that I can
spend the second half of my life and then some watching my family grow, living
with the love of my life, travelling the world, reading books, seeing art and
shows, things of that nature. I believe that a full and fruitful life comes not
from material pleasure, but from the experiences that we have, the memories
that we make, and the things that we know. Wiping my hands clean from the job of
running a business would provide me with ample time (and funds) to do all of
these things and more.
My exit strategy has without a doubt had a major impact upon
my decisions: If I saw this venture as a life long opportunity, one that I
could play out over the course of 40+ years, then I would be much less inclined
to grow it at such a high rate and to lock in assets and deals/contracts as
fast as possible.
In addition, it also gives me more incentive to set up
infrastructure (distributors, supply lines, manufacturing, employees) faster
and more efficiently, since they will all be assets that companies would pay more
for when acquiring my company. If I did not have all of these things set in
place already, my idea and my company would be much less appealing and
lucrative. The faster that I can move and grow, the better!
As such, my short timeline of 10-15 years of ownership has
incentivized me to move fast and grow it as much as possible before I call it quits
and sell it off so that I can explore all that life has to offer.
John, your exit strategy seems like a wonderful plan. I am also a family oriented person and want to allot ample time to my family and the things I enjoy most. It is nice to relate to someone in that way. One of the biggest focuses I have had lately is finding a company that I can have a great work-life balance with. I hope that you can achieve this goal you have and I wish you the best!
ReplyDeleteHi John. Your exit strategy appears to be very well thought-out. Like you, my exit strategy is to 'milk the majority of the growth' out of the firm. However, I plan on leaving much sooner than you. I also do not see my venture as a permanent one. I think our exit strategies have a large impact upon our decisions in the business. Great post John!
ReplyDeleteHi John,
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed reading your post, we have very similar ideas concerning our approaches long-term business strategies, primarily to develop a valuable business and sell this business after a number of years to earn a profit and/or receive royalty payments and retire early. I think that is my favorite potential about an entrepreneurial venture, that early retirement is an option with a successful business. Awesome work!