What is an exit strategy? From a small business point of view, a viable exit strategy is a plan that allows the owners of or investors in a small business to walk away with what they want to walk away with.
The "what they want" at the end of their period of ownership or investment may be money. An investor is often looking for a particular percentage of return on her investment, for instance, and obviously a business owner who is selling a business wants to make a profit.
However, exit strategies for small businesses are not just about making money; business owners often have other goals that they want their exit strategies to accomplish, such as establishing a legacy, ensuring that the business remains in their family, or continuing to have a say in what happens in the business.
Exit Strategies for Small Businesses presents six common exit strategies.
No matter what particular exit strategy a small business owner chooses, the best exit strategy is one that is planned and the sooner an exit strategy is chosen, the better. In fact, the best time to choose an exit strategy is when you’re writing a business plan since the exit strategy will affect the development of the business and some exit strategies can take years to execute successfully.
