Business Exits: How To Decide With Your Head Not Your Heart
Business exits are racked with emotion and indecision. Learn how to approach your sale without the emotional burden, so you can get what you need.
As a business owner, you spend most of your working years on steady, profitable expansion. When youâre calling the shots, thereâs no limit to your growth, and thereâs always more to achieve.
Then, seemingly out of nowhere, the time comes to consider hanging up your hat as the leader and strongest work horse. Itâs time to slow down, step back and start planning for a new goal: your business exit.
âYouâve spent your whole life putting in the hours â building something strong from the ground up. Business growth is what you know. Itâs your skill, your identity,â said John Vance, President of Vance Wealth. âBut what happens when itâs time to change that?â
When assessing a business exit, Vance Wealth completes a comprehensive Personal and Financial Assessment to determine the guidelines for a profitable business sale.
âWhen determining how much youâll need in your pocket after your business is gone, itâs actually most effective to start with your personal goals,â John said.
First, John will help you figure out how youâd like to spend your time once the business is sold. Together, youâll determine whether youâd like to leave a legacy for your family, how much you want to travel, what hobbies youâll spend money on and more. Essentially, youâre planning to do all the things youâve wanted but put off because of work.
âIt often opens up a new dialogue between husband and wife and, sometimes, within the larger extended family,â John said, âbut together, weâll evaluate how much youâll need to live the life youâve imagined.â
Next, itâs time to evaluate the financial side of the sale. John will walk you through possible future expenses, including any future moves or estate changes, health costs and more.
âWe evaluate your needs and wants, so we have a game plan for exactly how much youâll need to feel safe and happy after working so hard for so long,â John explained. âWe believe this is a more efficient process than trying to evaluate the exact worth of your business at the time of the sale.â
By determining how much youâll need, as well as how much you want, you can make the decision to sell based off a secure plan and a single target number â not an emotional, reactive or gut decision during a crucial moment. Then anything above your target is, essentially, gravy.
âThis process gives people a range to make decisions within,â John said. âIt lessens the emotional burden of the decision to sell, and for how much. Otherwise, the lack of clarity breeds anxiety, instead of allowing you to prioritize whatâs important: the security to continue achieving more.â
To learn more about planning your business exit â or retirement planning for business owners â please contact Tara White at 888-775-0950 to set up a consultation.
Vance Wealth, Inc. (âVance Wealthâ) is a registered investment advisor. Advisory services are only offered to clients or prospective clients where Vance Wealth and its representatives are properly licensed or exempt from licensure. The information provided is for educational and informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice and it should not be relied on as such. It should not be considered a solicitation to buy or an offer to sell a security. It does not take into account any investor’s particular investment objectives, strategies, tax status or investment horizon. You should consult your attorney or tax advisor.