The Exit: Don’t Blow The Biggest Deal Of Your Career

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The Exit: Don’t Blow The Biggest Deal Of Your CareerAfter a successful career as a CEO in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada and Silicon Valley, California, USA, founding a venture capital firm, hedge fund and angel fund and a couple of decades as an investor, Basil Peters has come to the conclusion that the last stage of the business life-cycle is where we blow it most often: The Exit.
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By his observation, only about 25 percent of saleable companies have successful exits. To help you start thinking about executing an optimum exit for your company, Peters, a YPO member since 1988, shares some of his top tips.

Have an exit strategy
This should be an essential part of every business plan. Even as a single-owner business or a CEO talking to yourself in the shower, you need clarity about your exit – it will impact a surprising number of daily decisions.

Learn about the industry
M&A has changed dramatically in the last decade – many of the old rules no longer apply. Understand the myths, misconceptions and outright lies of the M&A industry and know the truth about what is possible right here, right now.

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Be proactive, not reactive
People think if they run a good business, when it’s “time,” somebody’s going to magically knock on their door to buy their company. This occasionally happens and when it does, it’s almost never good news for the shareholders; with only a single bidder, the probability of a successful exit is dismal. Optimum exits require strategy, planning and excellent execution.

Build the best exit team
Peters is convinced that some who didn’t make it in the used car industry got into M&A. This is a completely unregulated industry and there are no recognized credentials like there are for doctors, accountants and lawyers.

(The article is written by Deborah Stoll, YPO)

(YPO is a global community of chief executives dedicated to becoming Better Leaders through Lifelong Learning and Idea ExchangeTM. The YPO platform provides more than 24,000 members in more than 130 countries. For more information, visit www.ypo.org.)