Would you “exit” your business? (part 3)

Hi {NAME}, Would you ever exit your business? When I ask entrepreneurs that question, their answers range from: “No way! My business is my baby…” To… “If the price is right, I’ll sell it to you right NOW!” But wherever you stand on the “sell out vs. hold forever” spectrum, one thing we fundamentally believe to be true at The Scalable Company is that all businesses should be built to sell. And that’s because of the Second Law of Scale, which states… LAW OF SCALE #2 The more valuable YOU are to your business, the less valuable your business is. Read that again because it’s so, so important: The more valuable YOU are to your business, the less valuable your business is. This truth can be difficult to hear because as entrepreneurs we not only believe we can do it all, but in the back of our minds we believe we must do it all because…well…we always have done it all! But “doing it all” isn’t working as well as it once did, is it? And in the back of your mind, you know that to truly scale, you’re going to have to step out of the “day-to-day” so you can focus on the larger, more strategic needs of the business. Enter: [The 5 Exits of the Entrepreneur]( [5-exits-of-the-entrepreneur] Exit #1: Exit the Line You’ve likely already made this “exit.” Exiting the Line happens when you hire your first employees and shift from a pure “worker” in your business to a manager of other “workers.” You still have a lot on your plate, but at this stage, you’re beginning to master the art of delegation. Exit #2: Exit the Staff Many founders call themselves “CEO,” but in reality, they’re actually just managers with a CEO title. So what’s the difference between a real CEO and a CEO by title only? Answer: [an operating system](. Once you have your company’s operating system in place, that’s when you achieve “Exit #2,” because that’s when you become a true CEO. Exit #3: Exit the Org Chart This “exit” might be my favorite. This is when you fully step out of the “day-to-day” and bring in an operator to run the business. This person could be a President, COO, VP of Operations, or even the CEO, but whatever their title, they handle the “messy work” so you can focus on the work you love doing (while still maintaining all the power and control). By the way, [here’s the story]( of one of our clients, Kimberly, who recently experienced this “exit.” Check it out: [( Exit #4: Exit the Board With this “exit,” you step away from the company completely. Not only are you no longer on the executive team, but you also aren’t even on the board, so you literally have zero organizational responsibilities. At this point, you still have your equity, so you continue to receive regular income in the form of dividends and distributions. The difference is, your income is purely passive because you are simply an investor in your own business. Exit #5: Exit Ownership Exit #5 is what most entrepreneurs think of when they hear the word “exit.” With this exit, you sell most or all of your interest in the business, effectively “cashing out” your investment. At this point, you have fully realized the value of all the blood, sweat, and tears, and you are now free to redeploy your wealth however you like. Who knows? You may even decide to fund a new venture and start the process all over again. :) So, now that you know all 5 exits, I have a question for you… Which exit do you want to make in the next 12 - 36 months? Whichever one you choose, just know you’re in the right place. To achieving your ideal exit, Ryan Deiss Co-Founder and CEO, The Scalable Company P.S. I gotta give credit where credit is due… I actually learned about the “5 Exits of the Entrepreneur” from my business partner (and Co-Founder of The Scalable Company), Roland Frasier. If you want to go even deeper on this topic, here’s an episode of the “Business Lunch” podcast where Roland breaks down the “5 Exits” in even greater depth: [ P.P.S. If you like the idea of “Exit #3” and you’re interested in building an operating system for your own company, here’s a video where I talk more about that: [( [ryan-deiss-signature]   Sent to: {EMAIL} The Scalable Company, 4330 Gaines Ranch Loop, Ste 120, Austin, Texas 78735, United States Don't want future emails? [Unsubscribe](