Do You Have an Exit Plan ?

For many founders, the goal isn’t just to build a profitable business, it’s to build something that can eventually run without them, be sold, or passed on. Yet most business owners spend years working in the business and very little time preparing for how they’ll one day move on from it.

An exit isn’t something that “just happens.” It needs planning, financially, strategically, and emotionally.

The time to start thinking about your exit is long before you’re ready to make one.

Many founders assume “exit” means selling the business for a lump sum. That’s one path, but not the only one.

Your exit might look like:

• A full trade sale
• A staged earn-out over several years
• Bringing in a management team and stepping back
• Passing ownership to the next generation
• Or simply winding down and retiring once you’ve achieved your financial goals

What matters is that you choose rather than drift into whatever happens.

The most common exit isn’t a sale, it’s retirement. Most small business owners eventually close the doors when they’ve had enough and move on to the next chapter of life.

If you’ve left a corporate job to start your business, it’s easy to forget the pension contributions your employer once made for you. When you run your own company, that responsibility now sits with you.

No matter what your exit plan looks like, you need to be building personal wealth outside the business and pensions remain one of the most efficient ways to do it. Company pension contributions are deductible for corporation tax purposes and don’t trigger personal tax until funds are withdrawn, making them a powerful long-term planning tool.

The future is uncertain. You may want to work when you’re 70, but you shouldn’t have to. Regular contributions now can make all the difference to your options later.

For some founders, the perfect exit isn’t a sale or retirement, it’s freedom.

It’s the ability to work one or two days a week, earn well, and know the business continues to operate smoothly without constant attention.

This is what I would call the entrepreneurial exit, turning your company into an asset that funds your lifestyle rather than consumes it.

You’re still the owner, still in control, but your time shifts from firefighting to oversight.

That might mean:

• Streamlining services to focus on the most profitable clients
• Delegating delivery while retaining strategic decisions
• Automating or outsourcing administration
• Creating recurring revenue that doesn’t depend on your time
• Building a lean, efficient business that supports your lifestyle and long-term wealth

You may never sell and that’s fine. The goal is choice. You can continue, scale, or sell later if you wish. What matters is that you’ve designed a business that serves you, not the other way around.

If your goal is to sell, it’s crucial to understand how your business will be valued.

In many industries such as accountancy, for example, businesses are typically valued as a multiple of net profit or revenue. That multiple will vary depending on the size, stability, and structure of the business, as well as current market appetite.

The key is to start planning early.

Speak with a broker who specialises in your sector several years before you intend to sell.

Find out:

• What buyers in your market are paying
• What they’re looking for in a deal
• How sales are commonly structured (e.g., upfront payments, deferred consideration, earn-outs)

Armed with that knowledge, you can build with a buyer in mind.

That might mean focusing on recurring revenue, reducing dependency on you personally, strengthening your client base, or tightening financial reporting.

When you understand what drives valuation in your sector, you can spend the final years before sale actively shaping your business into something buyers will compete for rather than hope it’s attractive enough when the time comes.

Some founders only start planning when burnout hits or a buyer appears. But the real value is created in the years before the exit.

If you want a strong price, minimal tax, or genuine lifestyle freedom, you need a roadmap not reactive decisions.

Whether your exit is five months, five years, or fifteen years away, now is the right time to ask:

“What’s my exit plan?”

If you’d like to make sure your business and personal finances are aligned for your future, let’s talk.

✅ Structure for future exit
✅ Improve business value
✅ Reduce tax on exit
✅ Build retirement wealth
✅ Design your own lifestyle business

Book a conversation with us today and take the first step toward an exit on your terms.