There are various ways to exit a business, depending on your goal.

For instance, some business owners are motivated by getting value from their business for everything they have built. This could mean selling their business to fund their retirement plan, which is a common strategy, while other founders may want to pass their business down to a family member or key employee.

Note: Not everyone may be interested in selling their business, but they want to exit their company and pursue something different, like starting a new hobby-based business or exploring new opportunities.

Overall, there are several ways to structure an exit strategy, and it all starts with understanding what you want and what you want your life to look like after you have exited your business. This could involve passing down your business, selling it, or morphing it into something new and different.

Building intellectual property assets in your business requires clarity on what you want for your business and your life, especially if you plan on moving away from a leadership role. Hiring higher-level staff may be necessary, but it can also be costly.

It's important to consciously build and grow these assets which can include:

• Logos and registered trademarks
• Operations manual
• Content: on social media, your web pages, and more
• Systems and Processes

Having these in place will ensure consistency and confidence in your business, as well as attract the right clients and price for value. This foundational piece is crucial for positioning your company for future exit and selling plans.

The one, actionable step someone can take in the next month to start exiting their company is to conduct an audit of their business processes and intellectual property, identifying what assets they have and what else needs to be developed.

Starting small with documenting one process and turning it into a checklist using readily available templates can be effective. You can then consider whether someone would value all these assets when buying the company.

1. Depending on your goals and motivations, there are various ways to exit a business. Some may want to sell or maybe pass it down to family or employees. Focus on what you want your life to look like after exiting the business.

2. Exiting a business can involve selling it, passing it on to a family member, merging with another business, or closing it. Selling a business is a specific type of exit strategy. The decision to exit a business and the strategy chosen depends on the unique circumstances and goals of the business owner.

3. To build intellectual property assets, be clear on your goals and hire people if necessary. Building assets will ensure consistency, and confidence and attract the right clients. This is crucial for future plans to exit or sell the business.

4. Avoid overdelivering on work, especially when you are not compensated for it. Have a well-crafted written scope that you can refer back to manage expectations better.

5. Conduct an audit and review of all business processes and intellectual property.

Identify gaps in processes and begin documenting them, starting with one process at a time, and start building them.