Overview of Business Exit Planning Program

We start the Program with research to help us understand your business, your industry and your motivations. From our experience, this stage has proven to be vital for achieving a successful outcome in the business exit process.

Program Introduction

We kick off the first stage with a Program Introduction module. This module will help you to get the right mind set and align your expectations when it comes to business exit planning. It will also introduce you to the important concepts of the program, such as sale readiness, business valuation, reverse due diligence and many others.

Owner’s Exit Readiness

We recognise how hard it is for so many business owners to transit to the next stage of life after so many years of sweat, blood and tears invested in their “baby”. In this module we will uncover where you, as the business owner, stand in the business life cycle and how ready you are to exit your business – not just from a financial perspective, but more importantly, from an emotional side as well.

Business Questionnaire

This business questionnaire is designed to help us take a step back and get a holistic view of your business, your industry and your competition. At this stage we will encourage you to take this questionnaire to your board or other trusted advisors and discuss it with your stakeholders. You will be surprised how many meaningful insights about your own business you will get during this process.

This stage is all about number crunching to help us understand how financially viable and sustainable your business is.

Business Valuation Report

To start the business valuation we will ask you to provide us with financial statements for the last three years (at least).

We will review your accounts and ask you additional questions regarding your revenue and expenses in order to ‘normalise’ your financial information, to make sure that the numbers reflect the actual (normal) operating activities of the business.

At the conclusion of this phase we will present you with the Business Valuation Report that will contain an indicative current market valuation for your business.

The aim of this stage is to dig deeper into your business fundamentals to reveal any gaps or obstacles that could stand in the way of a sale.

Sale Readiness Report

Our Sale Readiness Report will incorporate findings and recommendations including:

• Activities to increase the potential sale value of your business;
• Activities to increase the saleability of your business;
• Areas where further specialist advice may be required.

Business Model Review

In the Business Model Review we will look closely at your business and how it creates, delivers and captures value.

This review will allow us to explore possibilities for future development that ultimately could drive up the valuation of your business and increase the chances of selling your business on your terms and in your timeframe.

Risk Analysis Report

During this module we will conduct a detailed risk analysis to identify any loose ends in your business. We will share our findings with you in the Risk Analysis Report, which will form the foundation of our next stage of the Business Exit Program – Business Improvement.

This stage is all about improving the current value of your business and increasing the saleability of your business in what is currently a very overcrowded market.

Business Improvement Action Plan

As you know, the only way to increase profitability of your business is to improve your revenue and/or reduce your costs. You will be surprised at what can be done to improve your bottom line.

As the business improvement program rolls out across your business, it is time to revisit your business exit strategy.

Business Exit Strategy

In this module we will reflect on our findings from the Research stage, taking into account the current market conditions and competitive landscape in order to identify potential buyers for your business and the necessary promotional strategy to get them interested in acquiring your business.

As you are approaching the end of our Business Exit Planning Program, there are a few things that still need to be covered before the long anticipated transaction takes place.

Business Sale Plan

In the Business Sale Plan we will take you through necessary steps to position you and your business for the final stage – Business Exit. This plan will outline the right timing and the right tasks to engage your professional advisors before the transaction takes place.

From our experience the Business Exit stage can become an emotional rollercoaster for any business owner. We can’t emphasise strongly enough how important it is to have an experienced business sale advisor to guide you through the process from beginning to end. An experienced advisor will guide you through tough and emotional decisions, improve your negotiating position and ensure you achieve your desired outcome.

Depending on your industry and the market conditions, the final stage could typically take anything between three and nine months.