If you’re waiting to get to the edge of exit before you start to repair, you’re giving away money. The businesses that command premium exits started preparing three, four, and five years in advance — running their company like a buyer was coming to evaluate it every single quarter. Are you building a company you can run, or a company that somebody else can buy? That’s a different question than most founders ask themselves. Scott’s book is available on Amazon. 🎧 Spotify | Apple Podcasts
Why is exit strategy the same thing as a growth strategy?
Exit strategy and growth strategy are the same thing because everything that makes a business more sellable also makes it more profitable and more scalable today. SOPs, KPIs, leadership depth, clean financials, and documented processes all improve operations and build enterprise value simultaneously — you don’t have to choose one or the other. The key word is strategy. Before any move, any initiative, any hire — two questions should dominate: does it reduce risk, or does it add risk? Is it repeatable, transferable, and measurable?
Why is exit strategy the same thing as a growth strategy?
Exit strategy and growth strategy are the same because everything that makes a business more sellable also makes it more profitable today. SOPs, KPIs, leadership depth, clean financials, and documented processes all improve operations and build enterprise value simultaneously.
What are the three tests every growth decision should pass?
Every growth decision should pass three tests: Is it repeatable? Is it transferable? Is it measurable? If the initiative fails any one of these three, it is a red flag. You can build a scoring matrix — one to ten on each dimension — and require any initiative to score above a defined threshold before moving forward. If it’s not at 25 out of 30, go back to the drawing board. See also: 5-4-3-2 Exit Planning Framework.
What are the three tests every growth decision should pass?
Every growth decision should pass three tests: Is it repeatable? Is it transferable? Is it measurable? If the initiative fails any one of these three, it is a red flag and should not move forward until the gap is addressed.
What does optionality mean in exit planning?
Optionality means you have the ability to sell — or not sell — on your own terms. When your business runs without you, generates predictable revenue, and has documented systems, you are not forced to sell reactively. Sometimes someone goes three years into a five-year exit plan and discovers the business runs without them — and suddenly they have a choice they didn’t have before. The dream exit: you hand over the keys on Monday, the transition meeting is done by nine, and by nine-fifteen you’re in your car and you’re free.
What does optionality mean in exit planning and why does it matter?
Optionality means you have the ability to sell — or not sell — on your own terms. When your business runs without you and generates predictable revenue, you are not forced to sell reactively and can time the exit for a market multiple peak.
Full Episode Transcript
Welcome to episode number thirteen. Exit strategy is a growth strategy. If you’re waiting to get to the edge of exit before you start to repair, you’re giving away money. What you really want is preparation five, four, three, two years in advance — so that you’re getting the maximum multiple and it’s not a last-minute event.
Are you building a company you can run, or a company that somebody else can buy? The more you can prove the company is the type of company somebody wants to buy, the more optionality you have. You can decide whether to sell or not. Sometimes someone will go down this path and three years in, the thing is pretty much running on its own. That is the optionality.
Two questions before saying yes to anything: does it reduce risk, or does it add risk? And is it repeatable, transferable, measurable? If it fails any of those, it’s a red flag. Build a scoring matrix. One to ten on each. Out of thirty, if it’s not at twenty-five, go back to the drawing board.
The dream exit: you know you’re going to sell on a Monday. By nine o’clock you get in your car and say I’m free and clear. Exit strategy is not about selling. It’s about building a business worth a premium to the buyer who gets the maximum multiple. Aloha and Mahalo.
Related: 5-4-3-2 Framework | LAUNCH Framework | Exit Ratio 360™ | Exit Ratio 360™ on Amazon
About Scott Sylvan Bell
Scott Sylvan Bell is a mid-market exit strategy consultant and the creator of the Exit Ratio 360™. His book is available on Amazon.
