There is one overriding question that all business owners need to ask themselves. And answer truthfully.
Are you spending all of your time running your business?
As I noted in the previous chapter, a lot of business owners are so busy running the business, taking care of payroll, managing employees, developing new products, worrying about competition, just trying to stay ahead of the game, that exiting the business is the very last thing on their mind.
That laundry list is what you do to work in your business.
But what about working on your business?
When you work in your business, no matter how successful you are, you have created a job for yourself.
To make this a business, one that buyers are going to be interested in, you must change your mindset. Does your business run with or without you? If it can’t run without you, then no buyer is going to be interested.
Some of you may gasp when you read this.
For others, you are in utter disbelief. You may be saying, “Good heavens, Linda, what are you talking about” because it is simply
unreal for you to even think about doing anything but running your business.
I understand the feeling. Your business is your baby. Some of you may even be thinking, “My business is what I do to get away from the wife or husband, or kids, or the aging parent who has more dementia than you care to admit.”
Most of you got into business for yourself because
You couldn’t stand being held down to a 9 to 5, making someone else rich.
You like being “the Boss.”
You saw a need and you decided to step up and fill it.
You have spent years building this thing. You are emotionally tied to your business in so many ways. If you want to sell your business, someone else needs to buy it. You must understand the mindset of the buyer. What does the buyer need when you sell it to them?
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