“Don’t waste my time talking about exit planning, it’s not for me. I may be in my sixties (50’s, 70’s – you pick the number), but I feel great and can do this for at least another five, ten, fifteen years. Have you ever heard this? We have. Have you said it?
For some, discussing exit planning is like admitting failure, giving up, conceding to a thought that’s just too hard to face – aging. We call this the biology of exit planning.
Some older folks (and one of the author’s – Tony – falls into that category) tend to suffer from a detached reality. That is the mind still believes we are in our 30’s, yet the body – well that’s a different story. If we’ve taken care of our health we may feel younger than our chronological age. If we haven’t, we may actually feel much older than our chronological age. And the data show that the latter is more likely.
And why does this matter? It matters because unless we face “what is” with regard to our health we are likely to delay or worse, neglect, preparing a business exit plan. And, of course that’s fine as long as you do not need additional funds to support your retirement, or don’t care if you leave money to your family or prepare for your children to succeed you in your business. But if you do, you will need to face a non-negotiable reality: as we age we will get sick, we are very likely to have at least one chronic illness, and we may no longer be able to function in our business. And unfortunately, these events cannot be rescheduled on our calendar.
Exit planning is about positioning your business for sale, transfer, succession – events than insure the success of your business after you leave it. And there is an added benefit; as you improve your business preparing your exit plan, there is a high likelihood that your business will continue to grow and be strong. So if you continue in it for the next five, ten or fifteen years you are continuing in a successful growing business. Not a bad outcome – actually.
Copyright 2011 Kubica LaForest Consulting
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