Assignment 28A My Exit Strategy

Assignment 28A My Exit Strategy

Identify the exit strategy you plan to make. Do you intend to sell your business in the next 5 years for a large return? Do you intend to stay with the business for several decades and retire? Do you intend to protect the venture as a family business, and pass it down to your children?

My intention when developing Equine Memorial Solutions was, first and foremost, to solve a problem. I wanted the option to dispose of the remains of horses that were purposefully bred and raised for our entertainment and profit in a respectful and dignified manner. Equine cremation service is just that, it solves this problem for me and as a business venture, solves that problem for other horse people in my community.

I intend to bring this business up to a level of profitability, I am estimating two years before I experience the returns that I am seeking. I will continue to fine-tune the process, train staff, groom my successor, open one more location in this area while exploring Kentucky, New York, and California. I intend to operate the business for a total of 10 years before determining a valuation on the entire enterprise, then selling the operation to a party possessing values and a mission that aligns with my initial intention.

Why have you selected this particular exit strategy?

I initially had no desire to be The Horse Undertaker but someone needed to be. At the moment, I have the physical stamina and the emotional energy to develop and maintain a service business based around hauling flesh and managing grief. That will not be the case forever and I intend to exit before my empathy is tested and pass the torch, hopefully at a substantial profit.

How do you think your exit strategy has influenced the other decisions you've made in your concept? For instance, has it influenced how you have identified an opportunity? Has it influenced your growth intentions or how you plan to acquire and use resources?

I purposely chose a location separate from my existing farm business in order to maintain separation between my training and cremation services. I have hired managers and foremen to carry out operations without my daily involvement. Once the concept is developed and implemented. I will limit my role to strategic upper management, particularly as the venture matures, in order to be the head and heart of the operation until the appropriate successor is either located or created. I plan to bootstrap this venture, growing with personal funding enabling a clean sale and exit. These decisions were directly influenced by my intention to sell Equine Memorial Solutions within a decade.