I had lunch with one of my older brothers this week, who sold his business at the relatively young age of 42. As a business owner myself, we were discussing exit strategies, financial planning and where he saw himself in ten to fifteen years. It was interesting to hear his views, in particular that he gave one piece of counsel to anyone looking to sell their business:
Take care; considering the sale of your business is a one-way street
I knew exactly what he meant, and it probably applies to many things in life, new cars, house purchases or even the latest gadget, just innocent research becomes a slippery slope – the final, and only ultimate outcome being the sale of your business (or purchase of the car, house or gadget!).
The lesson: be careful with the questions you ask, once you start to look at selling your business it’s hard to slow things down, particularly if you have other interested parties.
I specialise in Financial Planning for Owner-managed Businesses, and help to answer the question “why?”, by understanding what your priorities and objectives are I seek to help you to achieve what’s important to you in life. Dealing with so many Entrepreneurs we understand how appealing it can be to sell a business, and apply a long-term view to the sale value of your business which we believe is more sophisticated, and useful than “how much can I get?”
