There are 3 critical areas you will want to have aligned
Many times, we’ll hear company owners/CEOs comment that they will sell their business only when they are personally ready to do so. On the surface this makes sense. But, to command a premium valuation for your company there is another critical factor and that is what appetite acquirers have at the time for a business like yours.
To achieve one day receiving the highest possible valuation for your company, you’ll want to monitor the alignment of 3 areas – 1.) Your Company Readiness To Attract/Excite Acquirers. 2.) Your Personal Readiness To Sell Your Business. 3.) Acquirers Appetite For A Business Like Yours.
The first two are clearly within your control and the third is not. But key to your exit preparation is monitoring the marketplace you are serving and knowing what the level of acquirer interest is. Our recommendation to owners/CEOs is to build a company that is ready to exit so that when either you wake up one morning and decide you’re personally ready to sell and/or strong potential acquirers come knocking on your door with the desire and available funds to buy a business like yours, you want to be able to jump on this.
What you want to avoid is only waiting for when you’re personally ready to sell only to then realize your business isn’t fully ready to excite an acquirer to pay a premium valuation and/or acquirers don’t have high interest in your market or your products/services at the time. To align these critically important 3 areas, engage with an exit planning professional like Yosemite Associates who can help you think about the alignment of these 3 areas and get you on your path to one day achieve a euphoric exit event.
