By Rob Snell
If you’re a business owner, you’ve got so much to think about, and you work so hard, that it might be difficult to envision the day when you’re in a different place in life.
However, that day will likely arrive, so you’ll want to be prepared for it, which means you’ll need an exit strategy. But how do you create one?
Here are some steps that can prove helpful:
• Start planning early. Making a quick exit is probably not a viable strategy for most business owners. Instead, you’ll want to plan far ahead for when you want to leave your business behind.
This will require some thinking about the big picture: What will the company look like when you’re gone? Are you essential to its survival? If not, do you want to sell it to a key employee or an outsider? Or would you prefer to keep it in the family?
After you’ve answered these types of questions, you can then move on to consider specific solutions, such as creating a buy-sell agreement with an employee or gradually transferring the business to family members.
• Determine how to fill a retirement income gap. You could spend two, or even three, decades in retirement – so you’ll want to be sure you’ll have an adequate income stream to cover all those years.
