Succession starts the day you open your business. Being EXIT ready is NOT about closing the doors and walking away or giving up.
It's about LEADERSHIP and getting organized to transition your business, including being prepared for whatever storm is coming next. The key is to identify gaps, evaluate opportunities and take action to work ON your business in advance of when you want out.
- Sara Phelan, Coach, Succession Planning Consultant, former Business Broker
Start Here. The Masterclass and Audit Checklist will get you thinking about what that transition might need from you to get organized.
Once you know where you are, it's time to do the work.
Literally. This means putting everything about your business on paper (virtually). No one will every know your business like you do. Stop expecting a consultant or broker to fix you. And they should not be there to tell you things about your business, you didn't already know. And could have easily been fixed given time. A loss for the seller in business value is a gain for buyer as a ready to action opportunity.
If you want to exit or have a succession plan in place, you need to be transparent, organized and shiny to fetch top dollar or have a seamless transition.
Don't worry! We have a process to help. Go at your own pace and build a CEO Dashboard in the Online Training, or join a coaching program to help you do just that.
Growth and EXIT have the exact same needs. Succession is based in structure with an eye on the big picture and a plan. Time to get organized.
Let's talk about your business!
Book a FREE 30 Minute Call with a Coach"Exiting my business was one of the hardest experiences I've had as an entrepreneur. " - Sara
As an award winning entrepreneur, I had lots of help to get into and grow my business, but getting out made me feel like I was a black sheep and there was no game plan to follow. I felt isolated, ashamed, scared and sad. My mindset and my heart took a beating.
LIFE. I learned a few hard lessons. Shake it off!
I wish I knew what to look out for much earlier. I would have made different decisions along the way if someone had shared this conversation with me when I opened my business.
On the Other Side.
Then, as a business broker, I needed to quickly create a clear picture of the entire operation to put a $$ on the business. Develop the Marketing assets and then market and sell the "potential" to qualified buyers. I specialized in middle market($250K- 10M).
Sure the brokerage had a qualified and reputable system in place to put a value on the business to sell, but I still needed a way to get owners to spill the beans, and tell me everything. I built this process and framework to evaluate businesses by diving deeper than the accountant prepared financials. Creating an inventory and a story line of opportunities for a new buyer. All while quietly coaching the owner to fix a few things to get it show ready.
I hated it! Really.
In my experience, NO owner calls a business broker when everything is perfect. And every business is NOT worth $1Million dollars. I hated disappointing people and having the hard conversations.
So, I started to focus on helping other small business owners to uncover their pain, tackle challenges, scale their operations and dream big, including exit, using this same framework.
So, why am I sharing my secret recipe?
I GET IT!
Even now, I still need to work on my own business and to stay accountable - working with a coach - And I know what I don't know. Which is why it breaks my heart to see other entrepreneurs reach out for the wrong help, too late, just because they didn't know, or worse yet, they took the advice of someone else that didn't know. (been there too!) The optimist in me prefers to build them up rather than tear them apart. So I created this online course, community and coaching program to help others get clarity and to be strategically in control of their business and future.
The CEO Dashboard includes easy to complete activities and checklists.
It will identify gaps and look for opportunities (including hiring the right help! or consultant) to reach your goals.
As an example, this program will NOT teach you a digital marketing strategy. But, it will ask you if you have one. And you should. It will ask you about two dozen other marketing strategies, tactics and assets too.
Strategies, tools, resources and best practices for inspiration and to chart a path forward.
No need to struggle or go it alone.
If your busines was a house, you'd fix the giant hole in the roof prior to selling. So step back, look at your busines and do the same. Remember, this is likely the most personal transaction or transfer of you life. Be kind to yourself, get the right advice and team to support you.
