The following is excerpted from “Exit Rich: The 6 P Method to Sell Your Business for Huge Profit” (January 26, 2021; Fast Company Press) provided with permission by authors, Michelle Seiler-Tucker and Sharon Lechter.
Let’s face it: Rarely does someone go into business with the end game in mind. Think back to when you started or bought your business. You were probably beyond the moon excited to be your own boss, able to create your own financial freedom and to have more quality time to spend with your family. However, those dreams became overshadowed rather quickly by the overwhelming demands of building and running your business—or, worse yet, your business running you!
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The biggest issue I see with business owners is that they don’t plan their exit, or end game, when they launch their business. Even when they do plan on selling their company eventually, they usually haven’t determined their desired sales price or range. Sadly, most entrepreneurs and franchise owners don’t think of selling until they’re forced to due to boredom, poor performance, or a catastrophic event. These, unsurprisingly, are usually the worst times to sell. The best time to sell is when your business is doing well and trending up.
It’s natural to set goals. Unfortunately, however, many people never achieve them. Perhaps they have not set a specific written goal, or they have not set a specific time frame. Most importantly and most likely, they have not identified their WHY.
You can’t bake a cake without flour. If you did, your cake would never rise. The same holds true with your business. If you leave out the key ingredient, your WHY, the sales price will never rise to your desired expectations.
Related: Why Entrepreneurs Shouldn’t Be Afraid to Ask for Help
The rules of goal setting
To keep focused on your WHY, it is important to set goals for your business. Goals will keep you moving forward.
The rules of goal setting are simple:
- Define a specific goal
- Set a time frame to accomplish your goal
- Determine your WHY
It’s almost impossible to set goals when you are unclear of what you really want in your life. Setting meaningful goals takes some serious soul-searching to determine what you really want to accomplish in your business and personal life.
Most of us entrepreneurs are super busy running our businesses, tending to our families and handling life’s everyday occurrences. It’s hard to determine what your ultimate goals are when you are so overwhelmed on a daily basis. Therefore, it’s imperative to take some time to escape the noise and try and do some deep meditation and soul-searching to determine what you really want.
There are three types of goals that you should consider:
A-Type Goals
A-type goals are the goals you know you can reach with little to no effort, because you have done it before. There are no real hurdles to overcome, and there is absolutely no growth in obtaining these goals.
B-Type Goals
B-type goals take a little more effort, but they are obtainable. It may help you grow a little to pursue a B-type goal, but it won’t push you to learn new skills or challenge you to grow outside your comfort level.
C-Type Goals
C-type goals are those goals that are completely outside your reach, and you have no idea how you are going to accomplish them. C-type goals are what excite us, what get our juices flowing, and what keep us in the game, no matter how difficult the obstacles are.
These are the goals that have invented electricity, the internet and smartphones. These are the goals that changed the world. They are not easily obtained, but like the lesser goals, they must be specific, have assigned time frames, and—most importantly—encompass a defined WHY.
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Beware, though. Your C-type goals will be full of distractions, roadblocks, potholes and crashes. As a result, you must identify and stay true to your WHY and stay on course, despite everyone and everything that is trying to deter you and knock you off your path.
If your C-type goals do not scare you, you are not reaching high enough. You might be saying, “I don’t have all the answers, competency or skill sets; therefore, I will never reach my C-type goals.”
On the contrary, if you know all the answers, you are on the wrong path, and you won’t experience any growth along the way. Once your C-type goals are clear, the magic happens, the specialist appears, answers show up and a path is created.
“Exit Rich” is available for pre-order now and can be purchased via StartupNation.com.
