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Getting out of business is a process. The length of time required to complete the process is directly related to the complexity of the business, and the circumstances underlying the decision to get out. Planning how you exit your business is just as important as how you started it.

The exit process, timing of events; and tasks associated need to be tailored to the type and complexity of the business. Each case is individual because reasons for dissolution differ, and problems that arise are unique to each circumstance. The following checklist contains key elements that should be evaluated as early in the exit process as possible to eliminate pitfalls later on.

The process for exiting a business should include evaluation of the following points:

1. Engage Professionals & Consultants as Team Members.

2. Prepare a List of Assets & Perform a Physical Inventory.

3. Perform a Valuation of the Business.

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For some, planning a business exit can be a predictable, methodical process. We know the competition; we understand market demands, know when we want to sell and might even know the actual date. But for far too many business owners, the business exit comes as a harsh reality and often unplanned event.

Protecting your business and assets against the dreaded six D’s of an unplanned business exit can give whole new meaning to the term “Disaster Management”. While every business may experience unexpected pitfalls, careful planning to ensure risk exposure is minimized can assist in keeping you in the driver’s seat when it comes to managing your company. Familiarize yourself with the six D’s of an unplanned business exit: debt, death, disability, divorce, departure and disaster. Know the enemy and look to address all six D’s in your operating and buy / sell agreements.

The Six D’s of an Unplanned Business Exit

To achieve financial independence, experts encourage even currently employed individuals to consider entrepreneurship. Setting up your own business, no matter how small, is touted as one of the best ways toward building the foundation for wealth. Those who are concerned about having a safety net need not take the plunge recklessly. One can start setting up a small business even while employed.  

Of crucial use to small businesses are credit card services and small business loans. The entrepreneur needs to know how to avail of these tools and how to effectively wield them for maximum business growth.

Credit Card Services

A small business would do well to get reputable credit card services in order to prosper in the current business climate. Availing of credit card services will enable it to accept both credit card and debit card payments. This is true either for brick-and-mortar businesses or internet based online businesses. After all, most consumers nowadays routinely use credit cards or debit cards for payment purposes. It only makes good business sense to be well-equipped for the needs of credit card users and debit card users as well as for the needs of customers who pay in cash.

My neighbor asked me, “Why would anyone sell a successful company?”. He could not understand why anyone would leave a business that was doing well. Of course successful companies get sold all the time.

So why do these business owners sell? The short answer is that most closely held businesses sell for human reasons, such as burn out, retirement, illness, partnership disputes, family issues or other personal reasons. Usually the business is fine but the human being running the business needs a change. To understand this better it is key to understand the other options for exiting a business.

Close the Business/Liquidation

Closing a business that is profitable never makes sense. Even if the assets are liquidated the price is likely to be pennies on the dollar versus selling the business as a going concern with employees, customers and a reputation that is intact. Not only does the business owner get the lowest value but the employees, vendors and customers are hurt by this type of exit.

How do you know if you have what it takes to start a business? There’s really no way to know for sure. But I do find things in common among the emotional and family fabric of people ready to consider an entrepreneurial venture.

You don’t have to fit all seven of these categories to be a good candidate for entrepreneurship. But it probably wouldn’t hurt. In general, the more you have in common with these characteristics, the closer you probably are to being ready to try going out on your own.

1. You come from a line of people who couldn’t work for someone else. I don’t mean that in a negative way. People who are successful at establishing their own business tend to have had parents who worked for themselves. It’s usually easier to get a job with a company than to start your own business; people who strike out on their own often have the direct example of a parent to look to.

When a man or business wishes to push a product or service they turn to advertising. Advertising is essential to nearly every business today. But market conditions have changed and modern times demand modern methods. Thousands of dollars are spent each year in publicity and enormous salaries are paid to trained specialists to direct the expenditure of these fortunes. Gone are the days when one can obtain money with little effort and expenditure. There are just many competitors in the market and the one with the cleverest brain and bank account gets ahead first.

With greater competition comes the greater demand for advertising. When you get into a market that is already filled with a lot of businesses like you, you should do a lot of marketing to put your business in the front. Likewise, when you enter a market in which you stand alone you should still advertise to let your prospects know that you are ready to meet their needs.

International virtual staffing agency, Team Double-ClickSM frequently replies to beleaguered prospective clients who ask, “Do I Need a Virtual Assistant?” Gayle and Jim Buske, founders, CEO and CFO, respectively, offer a remarkably straightforward means to answer this critical question.

Team Double-Click’s recent unveiling of the company’s easy-to-navigate website offers a self-administered quiz entitled, “Fast Quiz: Do I need a virtual assistant?”  Within five minutes, future clients can determine whether internet-based professionals, who provide virtual administrative, marketing and sales support, can indeed contribute to an entrepreneur’s emerging or existing business plan.

Answering a series of nine thought-provoking questions; one for example, “How often do you work additional hours in the evenings or on weekends just to stay on top of administrative tasks?” business owners select one multiple choice answer; each assigned an individual point value.  Upon completion of all nine questions the allotted points are tallied to determine if a virtual assistant can or cannot be a useful team member to assist in the growth of a future client’s particular business. If determined that a virtual assistant is needed, the quiz further clarifies a recommended number of hours an assistant can be contracted to relieve a business owner of any routine responsibilities, project work and/or on-going; albeit important, time-consuming tasks.