Consider Your Exit Strategy

When you are in the midst of starting and growing your eCommerce store, you might not be thinking too much about an exit strategy. Why should you?

Simple: because your exit strategy is going to heavily impact your future profits.

A lot of store owners don’t give an exit strategy any thought until the point when they actually do want to exit the business. But if you want to maximize profits, you need to run your store with your exit strategy already in mind.

For example, let’s suppose you decide to create an online store that’s built around the branding of your name. You spend years building the brand, growing the store, and living a comfortable life as a result.

Then one day you decide to retire. You decide to sell the store to the highest bidder. And since it’s a very profitable store, you expect to see a bidding war and a big sale price.

Except the problem is, YOU have become an integral part of the store. You’re the face of the store. Your name is the brand. When you step away, a very valuable part of the business is gone. Your store simply isn’t going to be as valuable, especially if you decide that you don’t want some stranger to continue to use your name and likeness to promote the store.

See the problem?

So that’s why you need to develop your exit strategy today. Think about how you intend to leave the business.

For example:

·         Sell the store to a stranger.

·         Sell the store to a current employee.

·         Sell the store to a family member.

·         Sell the store to a friend.

·         Sell the store to an existing partner.

·         Give the store away to a friend or family member.

·         Close the door and walk away.

·         Drop dead and let someone else worry about it.

(That’s not a comprehensive list – but it gets you thinking…)

Once you know what you’re going to do, then build your store with your exit strategy in mind. In other words, design your store for a smooth and profitable exit.

For example:

·         Create a brand that’s easy to transfer.

·         Create a business model that’s easy for someone else to take over.

·         Create ad campaigns that the new store owner can replicate.

Another thing you’ll want to consider is whether you have family that need to be taken care of in the event of your untimely demise. If you’d like your store to support your family after you’re gone, then you need to write down everything you do on a daily basis to grow your store—and start training your family members ASAP.