Exit Strategy? Most Small Business Owners Don't Have a Plan

By Chad Brooks, BusinessNewsDaily Contributor, 20-02-2014

Even though they expect to hand over the company reins in the next decade, most small business owners don't have a plan for how they'll do it, new research shows.

More than 60 percent of small business owners planning to leave their business in the next 10 years don't have an exit strategy and aren't working on one, a study by Securian Financial Group revealed.

Since the business represents a significant asset for most owners, researchers said by not managing and planning for it, the owner risks leaving its fate to chance. They said failing to develop an exit plan can leave the business, the family of the business owner, or the business's partners and employees in a very difficult situation. 

"With no exit plan, the small business owner not only risks the future of the firm but also its ability to generate income for the founder," said Andrew O'Brien, director of client solutions for Securian Financial Group, a provider of insurance, investment and retirement plans.

There are a variety of reasons for small business owners' lack of action on how they'll eventually depart their venture. Specifically, 30 percent of those surveyed are more focused on growing their business, another 30 percent believe they are indispensable and 18 percent feel there is a lack of qualified candidates to replace them.

Other reasons include not having a prospective successor who can afford to buy the business, and small business owners too swamped with other work to plan for the future.

For those who do have a plan, selling the business is the most likely exit strategy. The study discovered that 33 percent of small business owners intend to sell to a third party, with another 20 percent planning to sell  to a partner or key employee. 

"More than half of the people we talked to plan to sell their businesses, either to a partner, key employee or third party," O'Brien said. "An exit plan helps the founder lay the groundwork for a successful sale." >>>