Business 101: Plan your business exit from the start

Plan your exit before you start
Sounds obtuse but it's key that you think about your exit before you start. Who would buy your business? How big would your business need to be? How can you grow it to that level?
Scale is the key ingredient to a successful exit. Small companies, under £1m in turnover are of no interest to anyone. You must get to £10m or more in turnover to get serious buyers. The reason is simply the costs involved in a sale.
My number 1 tips.
- scale the business, do not take out money, reinvest everything for growth
- scale before profit
- keep your accounts clean, self explanatory.....
- if your business is £1m turnover, have processes in place for a £2m business and so on
- once you sell, never ever ever ever take an earnout
- cash exit with maximum 3 month handover
Good luck.