Exit strategies are a crucial part of the small business planning process when selling your business. Even if you do not intend to sell your business, you need to have good exit strategies up your sleeve to avoid any complications later.

Exit strategies can be your way of planning and managing your eventual departure from your business. Following are 4 key exit strategy tips for you to consider before selling your business:

1. Write down your exit strategy plan in detail:

It is the foremost exit strategy you need to undertake. To realize your strategy! It is essential to first properly plan your exit strategy and stick to it. Having a written plan will enable you to be in control of the process.

You need to have a proper exit strategy plan to keep a track on your business proceedings. By making a plan and sticking to it, you will notice an immediate, positive impact on your business.

2. Know the right time to get out of your business:

It is a well-known fact that the best businesses to sell are the ones that are not time-dependent. Therefore, you need to have a sustainable, durable and predictable type of business to attract prospective buyers.

You need to ask yourself certain questions such as ‘why exactly do I need to get out of my business?’ and ‘what do I need to get out of it?’.

3. Assemble and consult your advisory team:

To get the best deal and returns from your business, it will be beneficial for you to take your final call only after consulting your advisory team, who will provide you with all the necessary information.

Your advisory team should include your business lawyer, accountant and business broker. You can also consult a tax professional and hire a personal financial advisor.

4. Try increasing your business value:

This is perhaps the most important exit strategy. Your business has to be in good shape to attract the prospective buyers.

Some of the factors that can have a major impact on your business’ sale prospects are its profitability, durability, predictability and sustainability. You need to work on improving these factors before deciding to sell your business.

Not having an exit strategy plan may spell doom for your selling prospects. Therefore, it is advised that you consider the above-mentioned exit strategy tips before taking the final call.

For more information regarding exit strategy planning, deciding your business value and selling your own business, be fully prepared by using information and tools from highly regarded industry experts who have bought, sold and valued many different types of businesses using the guide and valuation tool in the Bizsale Kit.

Contrary to many entrepreneurs’ expectations most investors won’t read an entire business strategy plan, especially when the plan is more of an operational plan with too much detail. A strategic business plan is critical to your success in business however is not as critical as you might expect when raising capital. If your proposal doesn’t appeal to an investor then many will not read beyond the executive summary. In assessing between 10-30 businesses per month, investors and venture capitalists need to be ruthless and can’t just waste their time reading every proposal hoping that a more exciting proposition will come along at the end. Importantly the investor will draw conclusions from various facets of the proposition, such as the track record of the management team to work out whether it is necessary to check out every last word written in the strategic plan.

The message of the story – make the executive summary correct.

An executive summary is a 2 to 5 page summation of the significant information in the actual investment business plan.An exec summary is a 2 to 5 page synopsis of the really important points in your investor business plan.The executive summary is a 2 to 5 page synopsis of the crucial points in the strategic plan.

Usually an investor will assess the executive summary and gauge whether the opportunity and this investment really adds up, whether management look like they know what they are doing, and has been carefully thought through. Is this business reasonably going to take advantage of the mentioned opportunity? They’ll also want to conclude that the timing in the venture is appropriate – not too late & not too early. Cosmetically, the plan on the whole has to be clear, concise where it has to be and fleshed out where applicable.

Keep in mind the company idea does not have to be a paradigm shift, simple can be best and so wherever it isn’t don’t make it any much more complex than it has to be.

To arrive at the above conclusions, a excellent executive summary would include the following – and this is as much a information for what a great proposition looks like as what should be included in the executive summary:

1) The issue must be stated clearly, how large the issue is and that this problem is fitting for a company answer – following all not all difficulties within the planet ought to attract a business answer.

2) The market must be growing and be large sufficient for an expense chance to make sense. Investing in a shrinking industry isn’t an appealing proposition. Further, the expense will make much more feeling when the market discuss targeted isn’t a materials share from the overall market eg less than 5%, and still results in an appealing return for the investor.

3) The answer to the problem should be strong and shielded against the opposition, through a reasonably competitive edge, or patented protection all of which indicate the service or product will be outstanding, which is important. Further we must have a wide understanding from the competitors and what they have achieved and are likely to accomplish.

4) To be given uniqueness, the executive summary must articulate what the value proposal is to the end client, and determine that end client, and qualify the group targeted.

5) The management team must be introduced briefly (and in more detail within the investor business plan, exhibit why their history is appropriate for that business, and if they have not come from the business, demonstrate their desire to seek proper support.

6) The synopsis should demonstrate robust financials, with a return five-to-ten times inside of a 5 yr timeframe and note that recurring revenue reduces risk

7) The valuation should be sensible – thought should be paid to industry benchmarks – do this carefully as this what an investor will do. If there is one flag against management and entrepreneurs that often causes disappointment it is extreme valuations by entrepreneurs. It does nothing for management standing.

An exit should be stated, if possible with a selection of specific strategic partners quoted. So if you are seeking to be acquired…who are you ideal targets

If all these points were included in the executive summary, presented clearly and concisely and made logical sense, an entrepreneur ought to expect strong results, subject of course to the proper numbers falling out and matching the investors expectations.

What do you want your lifewriting business to accomplish in the next 12 months? Take some time right now and plan things out.

You don’t have time, you say. Planning is an indulgence? Think of this parable:

A person is sawing a tree and is obviously harried. A second person approaches and asks, “How long have you been sawing?”

“Oh, all day and I’m exhausted. Look at how much I have left to do!”

The second person suggests, “Your saw is dull. You need to sharpen it.”

The first retorts wearily, “That might be a good idea for some other people, but I just don’t have the time to do that. Don’t you see how much tree I have left to cut! Get real.”

Take the time to sharpen the “saw” of your business life. Make a business plan.

Making (or revising) a business plan need not be arduous. In fact, it can be rather simple and very satisfying. What I am offering here is a do-able process. I call it a business plan but I might also have called it a strategy plan. (What I am suggesting is not formally a business plan but let’s not quibble here. What follows is eminently useful. For more information on formal business plans, visit your local library or bookstore.)

You need to start with a mission statement. A mission statement is a paragraph about what you want to accomplish. Mission statements do not include income considerations. Rather, they contain the reasons you are drawn emotionally to this sort of work as opposed to others. (Why you do the particular work you have chosen rather than some other work.)

The goal of a mission statement is to be lofty, to say what you want to do–as if money were no object.

A mission statement answers the question: Why am I in this business and what do I hope to achieve spiritually and ethically?

A mission statement will enlighten your activities all year long; checking your activities and choices against it regularly will ensure that you stay on the track of what is good for your soul. You will use it to assess the rest of your plan. Mission statements can come easily to lifewriting workshop leaders. We love ideas and we love being of service. The exercise that follows is less in line with our inclinations, but I’ve found it to be the backbone of success.

While we are in this particular business for reasons that have to do with nurturing our souls, we must never forget that we are also trying to support ourselves with this very lifewriting business.

Many people work assiduously, never quite getting on top of things no matter how hard they try. Others seem to succeed more easily. While the reason can sometimes be outside of ourselves, it is frequently inside. The difference may be that some people plan their work and organize their work life in a way that maximizes their success.

OK. Let’s start planning. The first thing to do is to establish the income you want/feel you need to earn yearly from your business. Your work, if it is to be financially rewarding, should be driven by your realistic income goal.

Let’s say, for the sake of this discussion, that you want to derive $50,000 from your effort. Don’t start by filling your schedule with as many workshops and tele-classes as you can get and hope that they will add up to $50,000. Instead, translate $50,000 into the number, the length, and the frequency of workshops you MUST present to earn your income. This will be your OPERATING schedule for the next year.

Your goal is not to be busy. It’s not even to help people, though your mission statement will certainly include that. Your business goal is to be financially rewarded as you do meaningful work.

Here is an example of what you might calculate if your product were a workshop:

1) Say the workshops last 15 hours (five sessions of three hours each).

2) If you attract 12 participants for each workshop (a reasonable, “do-able” number) and they each pay $540 per series (15 hours x $12/hour), you will earn $6,480 per workshop series. (Will you be offering tuition rebates? If so, estimate how much that may come up to and subtract that figure from the $6,480. Offer rebates only as a way to fill your classes at the last minute!)

3) To earn the theoretical $50,000 per year, you will have to deliver 7.7 workshops–ok, let’s go with 8!.

In practical terms, this comes out to 4 workshops in the September-December trimester, 4 in the January-April trimester, and none in the May-August trimester or 3 workshops in the September-December trimester, 3 in the January-April trimester, and 2 in the May-August trimester–or you make your own mix.

Very do-able! I have left out our income and social security tax liability. To figure these out, you can go on the web and get current percentages charged and add the taxable amounts to the income you wish to bring home.