When you started your pharmacy or digital health business, the chances are that you did so because you felt that you had the skills and drive to fill a gap in the market that you had identified. The business exit plan, for most entrepreneurs at least, is a distant mark on the horizon –nothing defined or substantial.
As you progress through the stages of business ownership, though, and start to look at other opportunities or retirement, it becomes of utmost importance that you understand what a business exit plan is, and how you can make one for your business.
What is a business exit plan?
A business exit plan is exactly that: a plan for how you can exit your business. Ownership gives you a different set of challenges and opportunities than employment –in the latter you can exit the business whenever you feel like it with no real planning (if you should want to, although most would rather have a new role in place), whereas as an owner you have a lot of different roles that need to be taken care of before you can fully step away.
Exit strategies can include a full sale of the business and everything to do with it –giving you the opportunity to completely step away, a part sale where you would step away from running the business but retain a stake (and share of the profits) or a sale to venture capital investors who may want to buy the business outright, but keep you in situ to run things.
How can you make an exit plan for your business?
First of all, you need to identify exactly what it is you want to achieve with your exit plan. If you need to fully retire and want nothing more to do with the business, then that needs to be the ultimate goal. Likewise, if you simply want to get some of the equity out of the business now but are happy to keep working for the immediate future, then that should be your target.
Next –assess the market. Is your goal achievable at a price you are willing to sell all or part of the business for, in a timeframe that you are comfortable with? If so, then you are most of the way to where you want to be: you just need to find the right buyer and get the deal done. If not, you will need to address what the stumbling block is –could you achieve your target by reducing your price expectation? If you were prepared to stick around for another year or two, could you achieve your price requirements?
You can find out more about business exit plans by getting in touch with Pinnacle Pharmacy Group –we will help you to find the right exit strategy for you and your business in the current marketplace, as well as assist you with the other steps that the business seller must take.
