The Business Exit Blueprint Workshop 

Dear Reader

There are countless books on exit strategy, hundreds of podcasts on selling your business, and numerous business brokers willing to “help” you sell your business.

Nearly all focus on the mechanics of the sale, from the point you decide to sell through to completing the transaction, but they make two flawed assumptions:

1. You’re ready to sell your business;
2. Your business is ready for sale.

Why do I say flawed?

Flawed because so few owners are aware of all the possible exit options, few know what prospective buyers seek or value, and even fewer know how to choose the right path for them or their business.

That lack of awareness and knowledge leads to an unrealistic view of a business’s saleability and an over-inflated view of its market value. Ultimately that leads to wasting money on unhelpful advice, wasting time trying to sell the unsellable, and, eventually, disappointment at best or bitter regret for most.

This workshop is different. The Business Exit Blueprint Workshop focuses on your unique needs, starting from where you are today and guiding you through how to get your business (and yourself) ready for sale, so you can exit on your terms, at the time of your choosing, for the amount you want, without an earnout or onerous warranties.

How Does It Work?

During the workshop, I will guide you through the five questions every owner should answer before they decide it’s time to exit:

By the end of the workshop, with my guidance, and using proven analytical tools and models, you will have:

How Do You Know This Is For Real?

I started my working life as a strategy consultant advising a wide range of businesses from small and medium sized businesses through to FTSE100 companies. Following that, I led and scaled a fitted furniture manufacturer and retailer from £1m to £20m, with nearly 270 employees.

Since leaving the furniture business, I’ve advised 137 owners on how to grow their business’s value, reduce its reliance on them, and build an enduring legacy. You can read for yourself the benefits of working with me HERE. 

During my career, I’ve bought six businesses, and failed to buy two others because their owners made the critical mistakes I refer to above.

I co-own two businesses which we’re building to sell using the methodology I teach in the book, and which I’ll teach you during the workshop.

The bottom line: this workshop is built on my 34 years experience of running businesses, owning businesses, advising owners, and everything I teach in the book.

Given the nature and confidentiality of the topic, there are no public testimonials. However, during the application process, and after signing a non-disclosure agreement, I’ll share information on what they said about the workshop and their outcomes.

Previous participants on this workshop have included owners who:

• Wanted to exit in three years;
• Been approached to sell, but their deal fell through;
• Don’t intend to exit soon but want a business they can happily own forever or easily sell tomorrow if the perfect buyer comes knocking.

You may find it surprising, but all wished they’d done this workshop sooner in their ownership journey.

Why Now?

Most owners naturally focus on things like sales growth, product quality, customer satisfaction, cost reduction, and keeping things running smoothly. While these are crucial for a robust business, they don’t necessarily lead to a sale-ready business able to fetch a life-changing sum.

Why?

Well, unless you’ve been involved in buying and selling businesses, it’s challenging to understand what acquirers truly value. And, sadly, most owners are making one of nine critical mistakes which lower their business’s value, turn off prospective buyers, and make selling it a long, arduous, and draining process.

That lack of knowledge leads to deep disappointment: some 80% of owners fail to sell; and of those who do sell, 95% are unhappy with the net proceeds.

Take one client referred to me by a corporate finance adviser. They’d been offered several million pounds for their highly profitable business. But the buyer withdrew the offer when they realised just how dependent the business was on the owners. It took them three years to transform the company from a ‘life-style’ business to one that was “Built for Exit”. They recently sold for nearly four times the original offer, without an earnout, vendor loans, or warranties.

Fortunately, the factors that lower the value of a business and make it difficult to sell stem from the same simple and easily rectified causes, and making your business valuable, sellable, and sought-after is easier than you might think, and can happen faster than you’d believe.

But the earlier you start to address those factors, the more time your business’s value has to grow, the greater the rewards down the road, and the higher the likelihood you’ll get your ideal exit (which is why all the owners wished they’d done this workshop earlier in their ownership journey).

Who's This Workshop For?

I’ll cut to the chase - I only work with people who are:

• Driven, ambitious, and ethical;
• The primary shareholder* of a profitable business with more than £500k sales per annum;
• Open and willing to think differently about their business;
• Want to maximise their business’s value and secure their financial future.

*Although the workshop is designed for the principal shareholder, it can be adapted to include multiple shareholders, and is a powerful way to get a shared view of what each shareholders wants, and get everyone aligned and focused on delivering the growth and exit strategy.

If that sounds like you, and you’re ready to act, then this workshop might be ideal for you. All it takes to find out is to complete This Short Questionnaire and I’ll be in touch to chat about where you are today, what you want to achieve and how best to get you that. 

What Have You Got To Lose?

Many owners delay thinking about their (inevitable) exit until the last moment. Some simply can’t face the thought of it, some feel disloyal to their employees thinking about it, and some simply haven’t thought about the risks of owning a business they can’t sell easily.

Whatever the reason, the statistics show that not planning for your exit leads to poor outcomes, with fewer than 1 in 100 owners happy with their exit.

Take a moment, and imagine how you’d feel if it happened to you, and you couldn’t sell your business for the amount you wanted, when you wanted.

Can you imagine the simmering frustration? All those years wasted. The sweat, the sacrifices, the sleepless nights...all for nothing.

Can you imagine that sinking feeling, like a lead weight in your stomach, as a future of financial freedom for you and your family disappears?

Thankfully, it doesn’t have to be that way for you. The focused, tailored, and detailed action plan we’ll develop together over these two days is the best way to avoid that risk, disappointment and distress.

Even better, you’ll leave after the two days feeling confident, energised, and inspired to transform your business into a valuable, sellable, and sought-after asset, so you can sell when you want, for the price you want (or have a business you can happily own forever with less stress, hassle, and worry than today).

And remember - you literally have nothing to lose, because if I can’t help you create a plan that delivers at least a TWENTY (20) times return on your investment in the workshop, then I’ll refund your money, in full.

Ready To Get Started?

I usually hold only one workshop a month, and there’s often a three to four month waiting list for successful applicants.

If you’d like to get on the waiting list, your first step is to complete a short questionnaire (it’ll take about 3 minutes), and then I’ll be in touch to organise a chat about where you’re at today, what's important to you, and how you can best get that.

You can find the questionnaire HERE 

Or alternatively, do nothing, and risk joining the 99%+ who end up disappointed, out-of-pocket, and bitter about their exit.

Warmly,

PS: Starting to work on your exit strategy now (even if you don’t intend to exit soon) gives you control of your destiny, will transform your business (and by extension your life and relationships), and ultimately give you the financial freedom you want and deserve.

Your first step is to fill in a short questionnaire, and then I’ll be in touch for a chat. And I promise to never, ever try to sell you anything without you asking me to.