It’s impossible to give two weeks notice when it is your own company. And, as much as most owner operators daydream about escape every now and then, there isn’t much reality to the easy way out.
Yet, for every owner, there will come a time when they want to/should leave. This happened to me in 1998. It was my Vistage Group that held up the mirror and said: look at you, look at your company, look at the investment it will take to reach your strategic goals…we give you 4 months.
Yup, Vistage Groups can be tough – that’s why I was in one. It is the only safe place to get honest feedback when you are a CEO. They did it from their hearts and their brilliant minds.
Pat Hines of the Ranier group, a company that helps families that own businesses succeed in transitions, says owners leave in 4 ways: they pass them on to the next generation, they sell to employees, they sell to outside buyers, or they end up in bankruptcy. What is your likely outcome?
When I talk to owners in their 50’s and 60’s, many don’t have a plan beyond continuing to work for the next 5 years. They will mostly acknowledge that we had that same conversation 2 years ago with the same 5-year goal. If this sounds like you, may I suggest that you prepare your company for sale, even if you don’t plan to sell it. Most buyers are looking at a multiple of profits as defined by EBITDA or your Net Operating Profits. Start there. Get your profits up.
Next week we will go into steps to improve profits.
As for me, I sold to outsiders in 1999. We walked away with some money… but my share was not enough to retire in my 40’s. Good thing. I found my life’s work.