The Narrow Path to a Successful Exit
It is a strange thing, how swiftly the hour of decision comes upon a business owner. One moment, you are in the thick of enterprise, deals struck, accounts tallied, rivals watched with a wary eye. The next, a telegram of fate arrives: the thought of an exit. Not someday, but soon.
The path is narrow, and not without its snares. I have seen men delay until the choice was wrested from them, buyers dictating terms, banks tightening cords, value leaking away like water through a cracked cask. And I have seen others, prepared and resolute, stride into the market with their company polished like a sword, and return with riches enough to secure a dynasty.
There are three things the wise man sets in order before the chase begins:
- His Numbers. Profit must be clear and steady, for acquirers smell weakness like hounds on a trail.
- His People. A business without leaders beyond the founder is a fortress with no garrison.
- His Story. Buyers do not purchase figures alone, but the vision of what those figures might yet become.
Do this, and you enter the negotiation with the wind at your back. Neglect it, and you may find yourself stumbling over rough ground, harried by forces beyond your control.
An exit is not the end, but the turning of a page. Yet like all great adventures, it favours the one who prepares, who scouts the terrain, who knows when to move and when to wait. In that knowledge lies freedom, and in freedom lies the true reward.
