This post is about one of my 45-second pitches at my BNI Chapter, BNI City Business. You can read the introduction to this collection here.

9 February 2024. I wanted to continue the theme from last week on the key steps in Exit Planning. Step two is Valuation. That was my starting point for this week’s slide. I then went in search of a meme that would fit, and the one above turned up quite quickly. It was quite an easy prep; everything just seemed to fall into place. I had assembled my pitch a week in advance. I patted myself on being so well planned.

And then this week’s pitch criteria was circulated two days before the meeting: (a) What are the problems or pain points your ideal customer experiences? and (b) what specific referrals are you looking for? The second part is a staple expectation of our pitches. I don’t always try to incorporate the judging criteria, but I did leave that at the back of my mind. I didn’t need to change the slide, but I could tweak the pitch.

It was hard to see the body part prices in the graphic, but the headline was all that was really needed: “Black Market Values for Various Body Parts.” The story tells itself.

Being the day before the lunar New Year, I gave the traditional Gong Xi Fa Cai greeting and observed that we were about to enter the Year of the Dragon. I then said that it had nothing to do with my slide.

The pitch: Every business owner needs to know what their business is worth. On your exit journey, you need to be clear what your business is worth at the start of the process. This can be a formal valuation, or a more approximate appraisal. You need that starting point.

Why? An exit plan is about preparing you and your business for exit. The proceeds of your business sale may well need to fund whatever comes next. Rather than necessarily curtail your post-exit plans to fit the current value, a properly scoped and planned exit approaches it the other way around. How much do you need from the exit of your business to be able to do whatever you want to do next? The exit plan is then formulated to get you there, or as close as possible, in whatever time you have set for exit.

If you are planning to exit in less than 18 months, an exit plan is unlikely to move the needle. You can get your accounts restated, do some cosmetic tidying, and ensure you delegate as much off your plate as possible. I recommend my clients plan on having their business listed at least nine months before they want to exit. That might sound like a long time, but it really isn’t. Yes, the business may be sold in less time, but you can’t guarantee that unless you are willing to heavily discount the price. Don’t reach out to a broker three months before you want to be on a retirement cruise and still expect the broker to get top dollar.

Keep in mind that many businesses are unsaleable, and even those that are can be on the market for over a year.

I plan to continue this series next week. Excuse me while I scour the interwebs for something funny!