Bend, Oregon and Salt Lake City, Utah: In this episode of the show we focus on the last step in business ownership, the Exit Strategy. It is Step 8 within the Eight Steps for Starting and Growing your Business (Paths & Steps - just over on the left navigation column).

Lorraine Miller says that she feels like she built her business with her hands, head and guts, with a lot of perseverance, and in the face of people who said, `It won't work.' Yet, Lorraine concludes, "It was a fight, and any fighter wears down."

Jim's motivation to sell? Jim says, "I'd had it. It was total unadulterated burnout... I had a couple hundred employees ... we'd outgrown me as a manager, and business was not fun."

Peter Schenck commented, "They say, 'Buy low; sell high.' Our company's in this incredible surge. What better time would there be?" Yet, basic to Peter's decision was that missing interval where he realized his son was growing and he had been missing too much of that very precious time.

In most every episode of the show we explore how and why the founder of the business got started. Here is a rare opportunity to study those who have fully completed all eight steps within the business cycle.

• CONTACT: Jim Schell and Peter Schenck
  Opportunity Knocks (OK Groups)
  PO Box 9073
  Bend, Oregon 97708
  Tel: 541.317.9490
  URL: http://www.opp-knocks.org/
  Email: Click here
  
  Lorraine Miller
  URL: http://www.cactusandtropicals.com

• MOTIVATION TO DO THIS EPISODE:
  
  a) 70% of all businesses fail to transition beyond the founder.
  
  b) Burnout is real.
  
  It may be time to prepare your business to graduate to a new owner.
  
  Stay out of that 70% club. Learn from these three resident entrepreneurs and develop your own exit strategy based on your own equity and liquidity model. Learn more about exit strategies.
  
  Jim Schell says, "Everyone should have an exit strategy. I mean, after all, we're all going to exit, right?"

• GO FURTHER: Spend some time with the nine key points of the case study guide (upper right corner in the green box) and each of the related transcript segments.

• WHAT ARE THEY DOING NOW? All three are helping small businesses in their neighborhoods and their state.
  1) Jim has his OK Groups and serves on the Governor's Small Business Council.
  2) Lorraine is guiding new small businesses through her new business, Blue Highway (going down the roads less travelled). She has been involved with the Salt Lake Vest Pocket Business Coalition.
  3) Peter is a member of the Central Oregon Leadership Council and a member of the board of directors of Oregon Public Broadcasting (OPB).

• DON'T TRY THIS ALONE. FIND A BUSINESS BROKER.
  TURN TO THE PROFESSIONALS. In just the USA alone there are over 40,000 professional trade associations -- there is an association for every business type, even business brokers. Although we do not know these associations personally, these are the people who work on keeping their skills current or "their chops up." Remember, Lorraine, Jim and Peter all had their banker, attorney, CPA, and advisors involved, too! Lorraine's advisor wore three of those hats, plus he was the President of her local Chamber of Commerce.
  
  Leave no stones unturned!
  
  1. International Business Brokers Association (IBBA): This group is the bedrock of the industry. As they say, "The IBBA has more than 1,100 cooperative business brokers and intermediaries across Canada, Mexico, Asia, Europe and the United States." It is, "...the largest international non-profit association operating exclusively for the benefit of people and firms engaged in the various aspects of a business brokerage and mergers and acquisitions."
  
  2. Business Brokers Network has over 400 affiliated business brokerage firms located across the US and Canada.
  
  3. State Agencies: There are also many state associations and regional business brokers such as the California Association of Business Brokers and the Georgia Association of Business Brokers. Check in your own state.
  
  4. National Brokers: Or, look for any one of several large national brokers like Sunbelt (over 300 offices).
  
  5. Chambers of Commerce: Also, be sure to check with your local chamber people, click here.

• RELATED STORIES: Other episodes of the show study how people use the equity in their business. Also, there is more information about liquidity within Step 7 and Step 8.There are three other stories that look particularly at exit strategies:
  1. Exit using Equity to get Liquidity
  2. Selling to one of the largest, publicly-traded businesses in your industry
  3. Selling the company to your employees using the Employee Stock Ownership
  You may even want to review our episode of the show about Cactus & Tropicals.

• FIRST PRINCIPLES: Starting a business is the road to economic independence for most of us average people. Read a little more to see why incorporating a business keeps the passion of the American revolution alive!

• UNDERSTANDING INTANGIBLES: For most businesses today, up to 85% of the value of your business are intangibles yet you will not find them on your balance sheet. For example, the value of your web site does not show up. Get to know FASB and their GAAP and encourage your CPA to further open the discussions about intangibles.

• CASES BY BUSINESS TYPE. Click on the heading to find all the business types and then click on your type of business to check out those case studies.

• JOIN, JOIN, JOIN: Your professional associations in your industry are your key to continuing education, market research, collaborations, strategic partnerships, capital and so much more ... often you'll find that you enjoy like-minded people and many will become friends for life.

• SUPPORT PUBLIC TELEVISION:
  Become a member of your local station. If you are already, great. If not and your business is doing well, consider joining the Producers' Club ($1000).