Tax & Financial Group has completed the 5th edition of an extensive survey of small to medium sized business owners to determine strategies and trends in the areas of exit and succession planning. The high-level goal is to provide owners with insight into what other business owners are doing on this important subject. The findings will also allow owners to compare their progress to a summary of these exit and succession efforts.
The survey uncovered several interesting findings, including:
- 94% of owners say they don't have an exit strategy in place, a slightly higher percentage than in previous years.
- 78% want to exit their business in less than 10 years
- Selling to management or selling to family members is the most likely exit strategy in owner's minds.
- Grooming a successor remains the highest priority for exit. However, developing a written succession plan and discussing exit plans with family who are not in the business are seen as larger obstacles than in the past.
- Hiring a broker/investment banker to sell the business and seeking financing for buyers are seen as more important pieces of the plan than in previous years.
- Personal retirement preparation is still a critical issue for most owners, yet only 21% have an idea of what they will need to retire.
- One of the new questions we asked in this edition was regarding owners’ confidence in their strategies to reach their exit planning goals. Of those who felt more confident, 37% answered they felt more confident because their business is growing and 32% felt more confident because they felt the economy is better.
If you are concerned at all about where you stand as it relates to your exit from your business, please contact us. There are steps that every business owner should be taking to prepare for their exit. We can guide you along this path and help you address the critical issues and potential solutions in this important process.
Let us help you identify and achieve the “fruits of your labor” from something that you have spent much of your life’s work on – your business!
TAKE OUR SURVEY OF CLOSELY HELD BUSINESSES
All participants will be sent a copy of the next exit report once published.
