Exit planning for business owners.
How Texas business owners plan an exit three to five years out: choosing an exit path, building value, preparing financials, and timing the sale.
Exit planning is deciding how and when you will leave your business, and then using the years before that date to make the business worth more and easier to transfer. The main exit paths are a sale to an outside buyer, a sale to employees or management, a transfer to family, or a planned wind-down. Starting three to five years out gives you time to grow earnings, reduce owner dependence, clean up records, and plan for taxes.
Pick the exit path first
Each path has different rules. An outside sale usually gets the highest price but needs clean books and a business that runs without you. A management or employee buyout keeps the culture but often depends on seller financing. A family transfer brings estate and gift tax planning and the question of whether the next generation actually wants the business. Decide which path fits your goals before you start optimizing for it.
Build transferable value
Buyers pay for predictable cash flow they can run without you. Over the planning window, grow recurring revenue, diversify customers, document processes, build a team that can run day-to-day operations, and secure leases and key contracts that can transfer. Each of these can move your multiple, not just your earnings.
Get the numbers and the advisors in place
Have your CPA prepare consistent, reviewed financials, document add-backs as they happen, and model the after-tax result of different deal structures. Bring in an estate attorney if family or trusts are involved. A periodic opinion of value shows whether the plan is working.
Time the market, and your life
The best time to sell is when the business is growing, the trailing financials are strong, and you still have the energy to run it through a sale. Waiting for a health event, a bad year, or burnout usually means selling from weakness. When you are ready, see the 12-month preparation guide.