What’s Your Exit Strategy?
If you asked most entrepreneurs what their exit strategy was when they launched their business the answer is likely to have been “exit strategy…what exit strategy?” You see, for an eager young entrepreneur all hyped up about launching a new venture, thinking of the massive sums of money it’s likely to make them, ‘The End’ is the last thing on their minds. But exit strategy planning is something that all business owners need to consider if they are going to go out with a bang rather than a whimper.
The political landscape has been more media worthy than usual for the last few months and in the aftermath of this election we can see that some careers have been elevated beyond expectation while others have had their hopes dashed. But politicians are the masters of the exit strategy as many a multinational board of directors or quango chairman would agree. Their time in government is the perfect opportunity to rub shoulders with those whom they’d like to work with once their political career comes to an end (or sooner if the money’s right!). You’ll rarely see an unemployed x-politician!
The BBC recently totted up the numbers and came up with a figure of nearly a quarter of all those politicians who served in the last parliament having retired from politics rather than to stand in this election. That’s a huge percentage, and by no means all have come to the end of their working life and decided to put themselves out to pasture. No, some had exit strategy plans that were far more lucrative than that. Some have continued writing for their favourite broadsheets while others have decided to concentrate on their property portfolios. But no matter whether they have decided to dedicate themselves to their positions within charities, their new careers in think-tanks or accepted the directorship of some FTSE100 company or other, you can bet the farm that their exit strategy was meticulously planned.
Gordon Brown’s own exit strategy has been the subject of almost as much debate as the election itself. Although he says that he and his wife Sarah plan to do charity or voluntary work apparently William Hill have other ideas. The odds (when I wrote this) are 5/1 that he’ll become a banker, 6/1 that he’ll become a tax advisor, and 500/1 that he’ll become a presenter on The One Show!
If this election proves anything it’s that whatever heights you achieve in your career you’re only ever a very short distance from a plummet back down to Earth. So with this in mind you should always have your exit strategy parachute ready to deploy.
Everyone in business needs an exit strategy. Whether you’re an employee looking to progress your career or an entrepreneur just starting a new venture you need a plan.
As a small business owner looking for funding you should be aware that business Angels always have a defined exit strategy. This will usually be to steer your company towards a management buy-out of their shares, the sale of the company to a larger organisation or the floatation or partial floatation of the company within three to five years. It is important to know what your Angel’s exit strategy is right from the beginning to appreciate whether their plans for your venture mirror your own. After all, everyone has to be pulling in the same direction for your business to succeed.
So get that pen and paper out now and start thinking what your ultimate corporate plan is. Don’t you get caught without your exit strategy parachute.
Image © Bixentro
