What is exit planning?

An exit plan refers to a comprehensive plan that covers the business, personal, financial, legal and tax issues faced by a business owner. Business owners typically work closely with a qualified professional to develop a strategy to help them leave their business in a way that benefits them. Even if you aren’t ready to exit your business yet, it’s important to plan ahead so you’re ready when the time comes.

You’ve been busy running and building your business but what will happen when it comes time to leave? The right exit strategy will help you reap the rewards of your hard work and dedication to the business.

A good plan is an investment

According to the Smart Company WHK SME Directions Survey, only 35.3% of businesses have an exit strategy. Many business owners are so busy running their business, managing staff, and dealing with everyday challenges that planning takes a back seat. We understand running a business is hard work, but it’s important to plan for the day when you won’t be running your business anymore. A detailed plan is a valuable investment and enables you to have a smooth transition when exiting a business.

We’ll help minimise stress and maximise value

EMB Business Solutions will work closely with you to prepare a complete exit plan that will enable you to leave on your own terms. We know building a business is difficult, and moving on from that isn’t always easy. The EMB team will help make it a stress-free and simple experience for everyone involved. We’ll help you develop an up-to-date, detailed and relevant plan that’s built around your goals.

How EMB can help you prepare an exit strategy

First, we’ll start by getting to know you personally. Once we’ve understood what’s important to you, where you want to go, and what your goals are, we’ll be well-placed to prepare a plan that helps you reach your objectives.

We’ll then conduct a thorough analysis of your current business, identifying all relevant business, personal, financial, legal and tax considerations to help you achieve a successful exit.

We can also help you prepare your business for sale by researching the market and analysing similar businesses, assist in determining a suitable price for the business, managing due diligence and risk assessments, dealing with potential purchasers, providing merger and acquisition advice and negotiating contracts on your behalf. On top of this, we have an expert team of associate professionals that we partner with, such as Tax Agents, Lawyers and Auditors who we bring in when required. This means you’ll receive expert advice on the most suitable business structure for tax purposes, IP entity assessments, and which procedures to implement to minimise the risk and impact of external threats.

Things to consider when leaving a business

In order to seamlessly exit a business, there are many important things to consider, including timing, potential buyers and the impact this process will have on the business.

Consider how the business will run when you leave

The most valuable businesses are ones that can keep running without disruption if the business owner is absent. Great business owners make themselves redundant so that when it comes time to leave, they have something to sell. A great way to make your business attractive to potential buyers is to have well-documented procedures. This means having all the operational processes recorded so that another person could complete those tasks without any difficulty.

Consider what buyers will value

Buyers are more likely to invest in a business that has something unique, exclusive or proprietary. If you have something like this in your business, be sure to highlight this during the sales process. Recurring revenue streams are also valuable to prospective purchasers. A business with a subscription-based revenue model will be particularly attractive to your market. We can help you review your products or services to see if they have predictable revenue streams, and suggest ways to improve.

Consider your accounts

Are your books in tip-top condition? Great record keeping and accurate accounting and bookkeeping make selling a business so much easier. Just like servicing a car or building a house, bookkeeping is one of those things that is best left to the experts. Get in touch with our team today and we’ll help get you sorted.

Consider your goals

Most importantly, you need to think about what you want to achieve during this whole process. Once you have sorted this out, we’ll be able to develop a plan that means you can reach your goals.

Our advisors have the expertise to help at any stage of your business journey, talk to our team today.

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