Why Every Business Needs an Exit Strategy

If you’re like many business owners, chances are you’d only consider selling your business if you were coming to a specific financial or life point where you were ready to move on. But in today’s modern business world, most brokers and advisors recommend significant business exit planning from the very beginning, even if you don’t have any immediate plans to sell.

At Utah Business Consultants, we can help you put this sort of advanced plan into place. Here are some of the benefits you may find from establishing an exit planning strategy as early as possible.

Sets a Roadmap

For starters, planning an exit strategy can actually be a great way to determine the general direction of your business as a whole. An exit strategy brings a defined timetable for certain progress elements, from profits all the way down. It also helps you find specific benchmarks for success through the process, whether or not you’re actively looking to sell.

Enhances Value

When we say “value” here, we don’t necessarily mean raw monetary value in a vacuum – an early exit strategy is no guarantee that your business will sell for a larger figure when you do move on. What we mean, though, is that having an exit strategy enhances the value to you as an owner: You’ll be guiding it toward a conclusion you’re prepared for, which allows you to take the proper steps to maximize your return.

Informs Decision Making

If you don’t have a planned exit, it’s easy to get caught up in the day-to-day factors of the job rather than the long-term strategy behind the business. An exit strategy keeps these kinds of long-term factors firmly in view.

Allows for Flexibility

Chances are, your initial exit plan will need to be revised over time as circumstances change. But if you have a plan in place from the start, it’s easy to adjust your benchmarks within that framework without having to start all over again. And if an unexpected event takes place that accelerates the need to move on, you already have a process in place for doing so.

For more on why every business should have an exit strategy from the start, or to learn about our business exit planning services, speak to the pros at Utah Business Consultants today.