One bright day in late autumn a family of Ants were bustling about in the warm sunshine, drying out the grain they had stored up during the summer to last them throughout winter, when a starving Grasshopper, his fiddle under his arm, came up and humbly begged for a bite to eat.
“What!” cried the Ants in surprise, “haven’t you stored anything away for the winter? What in the world were you doing all last summer?”
“I didn’t have time to store up any food,” whined the Grasshopper; “I was so busy making music that before I knew it the summer was gone.” The Ants shrugged their shoulders in disgust.
“Making music, were you?” they cried. “Very well; now dance!” And they turned their backs on the Grasshopper and went on with their work.
There’s a lot we can learn from little stories like this one In this instance, the ants, the grain, autumn and winter represent the business owner preparing their business for the inevitable, the time when the owner or owners exit the business. Preparing for exit is like the ant preparing for winter. In our case, the business goes through a process of house cleaning, planning, adjusting and the like, until the business and the owner are ready to initiate the final part of their exit plan.
Those business owners that take the time, in advance, to plan and implement in preparation for an exit usually achieve a far smoother, more successful exit than those, who like the grasshopper, don’t plan ahead and realise when they’re desperate that they should have been more considered.
As specialist small to medium business advisors, the Benchmark Business Advisory team have the necessary skills, experience and connections to help you get your business sale ready. Whether you are looking to sell in 6 months or a few years, it will be worth your while having a confidential chat with one of our advisors.