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You have been hard at work since you can remember building your business. Things have somehow managed to get to a point where you are not sure if there is anything left for you to accomplish. You ponder new ways to grow the company, think about bringing in a hotshot VP of Sales or new CFO to bring better financial management to the company. However you seem to look at it, you still keep coming to the conclusion that you'd love to spend the next ten years playing golf, vacationing, relaxing at the cottage or simply walking your dog. But how would this be possible? There is no way in your mind that the company can survive a week without you (or so you think), let alone the next ten years.

Then, it dawns on you… what about selling the business? To who? For how much? Will you end up selling yourself short or are you just a couple of years away from hitting the jackpot? Perhaps the last few years have not been as good as you had hoped; Perhaps they've been great and you think the iron is hot, now is the time.

The hardest thing for many serial entrepreneurs to determine is deciding when it is time to move on to something else. There are many clues that it is time to sell.

Some which may be: You feel undermined by your management group and, financially and culturally, the company and your employees are better for it; You've hit a wall and are flat out tired of spinning your tires with little progress; or, If you have a board of directors, perhaps they've been insisting that new officers and VP's are needed and you just don't quite agree.

At some point, everyone in a key management position comes to the realization that they need to move on - if not for themselves, then for the good of the business. I think that the answer can be found in asking yourself a few key questions:

• Do you honestly think that, with the right management group in place, the company is better off with you at the helm, playing an advisory role in the background or without your participation entirely?
• Can you envision yourself playing golf five times per week (or whatever your retirement hobby would be) and be fulfilled with what you have achieved and happy?
• Based on your age, will you be able to cash in enough chips to retire or get into your next venture with the proceeds of an exit?
• What do your trusted advisors, board members, family, friends, colleagues, etc… think about the idea of your exit?

When it comes to retirement and, for that matter, the long-term prosperity of your business, there is more to consider than just your personal well-being. The first, and main, question to ask yourself is:

What happens to your employees, key clients, suppliers, and other stakeholders if you do decide to move on - whether to retire or start a new venture?

If you can honestly determine that, under the right conditions and as a whole, your exit will benefit the greater good in the long-term, then you are ready to look at potential exit options. If not, and you really want to figure out how you can make that a reality, then you need to figure out the circumstances under which the proper exit conditions exist.

This is not a decision to be made in isolation - families, individual careers and a number of other people will be affected by your decision. It is your responsibility, whether you like it or not, to ensure that they are better served by your decision to leave than by sticking around and creating a situation where your exit is a greater benefit to them than your continued participation.

By no means, does a sale require an 'all or nothing' proposition - there are many circumstances where a quick exit is not best for you or your stakeholders. Whether that is addressed through an ongoing consulting agreement, board position, management contract, or other form of weaning the company off relying on you for day-to-day participation, there are a number of possible solutions.

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Keywords: selling companies, exit strategies

About the Author:

Ian Harvey is a finance professional in the small and medium-sized business market. He works with owners and managers to help them gain access to capital and structure their financial, operations and business development affairs to meet the needs to today and goals in the future.

If you have any questions about the content of this article or how your business can benefit from working with Ian and his network of SMB partners, please visit www.smbedge.com/contact.html

About SMB Edge!:

SMB Edge! was created based on the fact that there are many Small and Medium-sized businesses (SMBs) without the resources or access to the information owners and managers need to make well-informed decisions in the current economy.

Please visit www.smbedge.com to gain access to the information and resources your company needs to thrive!

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