Oprah announces her exit after twenty-five years.
Flash back to February 2010, when we were all busy watching the 2010 Winter Olympics (especially the Figure Skating at my house). Without a doubt, these were athletes trained to take home the gold. Then, some of these same athletes returned home and competed in Dancing with the Stars, where they had an even better chance to win the gold, or in the case of that competition, the glitter ball trophy. Why is that? Is it because they can visualize their end game? You bet! How about your business? Are you going for the gold? It's easy to start a business, but not so easy to pass the first five years mark, harder still to sustain business growth at the second five year mark, and even harder to breakthrough to earning your first $1 million, $5million, $10million, $20million going up to $100 million in revenue. Winning the gold seems impossible at times. You may be committed to and diligent in growing the business, but do you have your end game in mind?
It appears Oprah Winfrey had an end game in mind when she announced her exit in November 2009. In my Exit Strategy 101 article, I shared with readers why Winfrey decided it was the right time to leave the game. Is it time for you to rethink where you're taking your business and start visualizing your end game? Then start getting by getting it written down, mapping it out, putting it in a Word doc - whatever you need to do - because without a goal on paper, you won't get anywhere.
So when should you have your end game mapped out? Ideally when you start your business, but the reality of running your business day in and day out make that an unlikely goal to make. You just don't have the time or the energy when getting a business off the ground.
Depending in which fifth year block your business is, here are a couple things to consider:
1) The First 5YB. For the most part, this is the survival stage. You're lucky if you're worried about growth in this stage. You focus most on marketing and sales to pump revenue into the company. It's all about volume and transactions. Many businesses show minimum profits if any.
2) The Second 5YB. Your growth stage. Once you have enough volume you will naturally focus on streamlining processes. Focus on repeat business and customer loyalty. It will shorten your sales cycle and provide more added value to customers.
3) The Third 5YB. This is your positioning stage and now is the time to take your company to the next level. This will require certain foundations that you've hopefully built over time. I advise that you focus on the P Variables. Find out The P Variables in my Secrets of a Successful Exit article.
Regardless which 5YB your business is in, you should have the end game in mind. Take time to plan for it now, and let the Company Wealth Map (CWM) help guide you. The CWM is a "road map" that can help take you to your ultimate goal - financial independence. Work with your business coach, Midas advisor, or consultant to create a CWM for your business, and ultimately the life you want to work toward.
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Chia-Li Chien, CFP®, CRPC, PMP; Succession Strategies for Women Entrepreneurs. She is chief strategist of Value Growth Institute dedicated to helping private business owners increase the value of their firms. She is the award-winning author of Show Me The Money and faculty member of American Management Association. Her blog is named a top small business resource by the New York Times. http://valuegrowthinstitute.com
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