I am certainly not the first - let alone the only - to address the usefulness and necessity of a good exit plan among entrepreneurs. Nevertheless, I do it again, and the most important message I want to give in doing so is: start on time.
And by in time, I don't mean two years before the assumed sale or transfer date. Feel free to take a few extra years for this. And don't start thinking about who you want to sell or transfer to, but look at your own business with a buyer 's eye. Why? You know your business better than anyone else, right? True, but that very other person will continue your business in the future. So it pays to imagine why that other person should buy your business.
In this blog, I invite you to take that "picture of your own business," and I'll give you some tools you can use to shape it.
The SWOT analysis
When you started (or took over) the business, you certainly made it: the Strengths/Weaknesses/Opportunities/Threats analysis. But what was good then may be better now. And what you didn't see then, you certainly see better now. Recreate the SWOT analysis and place it in today's world with changing business and revenue models, new technologies and changed buying behavior. As a tool, take the Business Model Canvas (just google it). Along the axis of this business model you place the business in today's zeitgeist, and you will find that this leads to new insights.
The USPs
If you know where you stand with your business and where the opportunities lie, that doesn't mean a potential buyer will see that too. So make sure you have the distinguishing factors in view and do a competitive analysis to find out where your business is unique. In approach, business model or offerings, for example. Why do people come to you and not to someone else. Also make sure that your customers know these USP's and put them at the center. What do they need that you provide? What problem or challenge can you solve? It is these factors that you highlight when you talk to buyers and what they are interested in.
Value creation
While you still have time before you sell or transfer the business, you also have time to create value. Do you have all the value drivers in focus? It's not just about good working capital management or reducing dependence on a limited number of buyers. For example, also look at the scalability of your business, its innovative capacity, its share of recurring revenue. Or make an analysis of your employee base, is it balanced? A future buyer will be interested in that too. And some knobs you can still turn, creating value that will accrue to you in a takeover.
In short, I am convinced that the picture of your company gives you an up-to-date insight into where you are now and helps you shape the exit plan. Working on Waarde is what we call it.
