Know When and How

John West is a serial entrepreneur in the truest sense. Prior to his latest startup, he had already built and sold two companies in very different industries. And he says that while developing an idea to start a business takes time, selling that same business is just as complicated.

West started building Whistle Sports Network in 2008 after selling his second company, Silver Oak. After the Silver Oak sale, he decided to spend time with his children. As his children started watching sports, he started to notice that the media coverage, content and delivery weren’t geared toward younger generations. West started to research the media industry and decided to launch a linear cable network. Today, Whistle Sports has 315 channels and 115 million aggregate fans and followers.

During a sale, business owners have key financial and emotional considerations, like figuring out what to do once they don’t own that business and developing a personal financial plan. While the lump sum from a sale can be life-changing money, it’s secondary to the work as an entrepreneur, according to West.

Nadia Allaudin, senior vice president of Wealth Management at Merrill Lynch Global Wealth Management in Century City, agrees and says that "there needs to be an understanding for the impetus for the sale or walking away. There needs to be a lot of conversations about how you’re going to handle this.”

Once a business owner receives an offer, whether expected or not, that’s when the planning begins.

Prepare for the exit.
Leaving a business requires understanding the business's value and worth. You may need multiple valuations depending on the buyer, nature of the business and the deal. Having clear books and records helps a buyer with due diligence, and you want to have years of financials readily available so you’re prepared for that unexpected offer.

Negotiate your responsibilities.
As part of the Silver Oak sale to CGI, West stayed with the company for 18 months to manage the integration of Silver Oak into the bigger business and work on special projects.

“A lot of times, the company wants you there to shepherd your old employees into the new system,” says Sabol.

If you’re asked to stay, inquire about the length of the commitment and the expectations of that position since this will affect your future plans.

Create a plan for your finances and time.
What you plan to do with your time and how your life will look is as important as the financial aspect of leaving your business. After selling Enstrat, West moved to New York to work as a management consultant. When that firm was sold, he then started Silver Oak.

“I knew I wanted to do something on my own, so I came up with the idea for Silver Oak on napkins and planned the budget for the company,” says West.

Source: entrepreneu

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