What does a great exit look like? How do you accomplish one? Geoff Green is on the show today who is the author of The Smart Business Exit. Geoff started off his career as an M&A attorney and has been a business advisor, value building advisor, and exit strategist for over 30 years. We talk about the different variables needed to build a sustainable business that is highly transferrable and valuable. Geoff explains how navigate all the variables that go into accomplishing a great exit that includes being happy in your life after business.

You Will Learn About:

Geoff’s journey from an M&A lawyer to a business and exit advisor

What is involved in a great exit

How to take control as the business owner over the process of who you sell to and when you choose to sell

Putting yourself in a good position emotionally to be happy post-sale and down the road

The importance of starting or thinking about having a community outside your business

The “uncomfortable truths” about your business

What type of business owner you are

Focusing on building a highly sellable business

Getting into the mindset of thinking like a buyer and looking at your business differently

Working out your renewed purpose

In this podcast, Geoff Green talks about the absolute necessity of planning for your life after business — which could not be more perfect for this show. He spent ample time as a corporate lawyer and learned all about the inner workings of a deal. However, he noticed a distinct lack of planning for what happens after the exit… and that this was creating an undue amount of stress on business owners.

When someone asks you “What are you going to do after you sell your business?” Do you have an answer ready? Do you feel happy and excited to exit your business? Well, you’re not alone if you answered negatively to both of those questions and felt a smidge of panic.

Preparing for the Inevitable

You’re going to exit your business some day or another, so why aren’t you preparing now? Time after time, we’re told to prepare early for the sale of our business so we don’t get nasty surprises during due diligence or negotiations. However, rarely are you asked, as an entrepreneur, “Have you planned for life after your business?”

This is why I created this podcast, and why I’m grateful to host people like Geoff who truly understand the importance of thinking about what comes next.

Since we know that we are going to have to leave our business eventually — and yes, maybe ‘over your dead body’ but one day even that will happen! — we need to embrace the planning process. You can even treat it like a business plan: what are your needs, what goals can you set to attain those needs, what action plans can you put in place to achieve those goals and what type of framework do you need to ensure your action plans are successful?

The Uncomfortable Truth

To borrow from Geoff’s book, The Smart Business Exit: Getting Rewarded for Your Blood, Sweat and Tears, you need to face some uncomfortable t