I would want to build my business up and make it profitable for the first ten years in order to gain the attention of bigger companies and investors. After the ten years I would sell my company at a peak time and use the money from the sale to begin a new venture or retire, depending on the amount I sell it for.
I have selected this exit strategy because I believe for ten years I will be able to manage the business and build up the size of the company. I will also have the creativity to continue expanding my revenue drivers and expand my business out in that way. However, I believe that after ten years there may be other businesses better specialized in sleep and better equipped to diversify my product in order to keep the business around for a while. These are resources I simply would not have so a bigger corporation owning my business would be best for the business in the long run.
My exit strategy has made my overall concept more short-term focused with the overall opportunity and concept made to be able to withstand the long-term. I want my business to last and believe there is opportunity for it to do so for a ways into the future; however, I know my limits and therefore have kept my personal vision short-term because I do not have the resources or vision to keep the business running as long-term as the opportunity itself would enable.
I would be expanding quickly in the beginning and innovating quickly to expand my revenue drivers and therefore make my business appealing to investors and buyers. This would, however, use up my resources and make room for a more equipped corporation to step in and keep the business at a stable and productive level long-term.
Hey Katia,
ReplyDeleteI think that you have a sound exit strategy. Your decision to sell the business after a few years is justified as you explained there will most likely be bigger businesses that have more resources. With that being said, who knows, maybe your idea will explode and you will be the powerhouse in sleep equipment. Take Jeff Bezos for example, in 1999, he was working in a little corner office, trying to establish his grand business idea. Today, Jeff Bezos is the richest man in the world. That happened in two decades. Crazy things can happen. If you work hard you can accomplish anything.