Friday, April 20, 2012

CFO Services - Executing the Exit Strategy

On previous posts I spoke of Exit strategies and the importance of having a solid exit strategy, but as an extension of that post I wanted to put together a checklist for the business owner to help them understand what they have to think about in order to begin the process of preparing an effective Exit strategy. By the way, these items are going to take some deep and serious thought.

  • Determine the value of your business through a certified business appraisal
  • Determine how much money you need to live and be comfortable
  • Determine when you want to leave your business
  • Determine how you want to leave, meaning do you want to sell to a 3rd party? Do you want to sell to a family member? Do you want to sell to a key employee or partner?
  • Use your advisers – CPA, Lawyer, Part time CFO to help you make these decisions
  • Build value in your business by keeping and motivating key employees
  • Do not become an irreplaceable employee in your business.
  • Work with your advisors to put together your estate plan and prepare a plan as to what will happen to your business should you die suddenly

This is an effective list for the business owner and Contract CFO to lead the team of business owner experts in executing the exit strategy.