28A – Your Exit Strategy
My Exit Strategy
My exit strategy for my business is simple: I want to run and establish my company for seven years before selling out. I believe that in seven years my company will have expanded to 5 coffee bikes functioning at full capacity at different places on campus every day. In the breaks (when students are on break), I believe we will have a high demand for our services throughout the Gainesville community. When the opportunity has been exploited, I will sell out, potentially to family.
I would like to step out of the business at this time because I believe that college campuses will no longer be used like they are right now. Online schooling has the potential to really hurt on-campus businesses as the future of high education is online.
Also, it is demanding work with an opportunity ceiling that is reachable in those seven years. I have chosen this strategy because I believe that new ideas must be brought into to a company in order for it to maintain success. I will lose excitement in selling coffee and will long for a change. After this point, I will seek a new venture that I can grow and be excited in again. This is why I have chosen this strategy.
My exit strategy has had no impact on my plan throughout this semester. I have always seen this as a short term venture, however, I want it to be as successful as can be during my time of dedication to it. This means I work for it to succeed as much in my current plan as if I were to keep the company long term. Short-term success will allow me to sell out for more. Putting systems in place will allow the next owner a company to step into and strive in long after I am gone. The rest of my decisions are aimed at immediate market penetration and success.
My exit strategy for my business is simple: I want to run and establish my company for seven years before selling out. I believe that in seven years my company will have expanded to 5 coffee bikes functioning at full capacity at different places on campus every day. In the breaks (when students are on break), I believe we will have a high demand for our services throughout the Gainesville community. When the opportunity has been exploited, I will sell out, potentially to family.
I would like to step out of the business at this time because I believe that college campuses will no longer be used like they are right now. Online schooling has the potential to really hurt on-campus businesses as the future of high education is online.
Also, it is demanding work with an opportunity ceiling that is reachable in those seven years. I have chosen this strategy because I believe that new ideas must be brought into to a company in order for it to maintain success. I will lose excitement in selling coffee and will long for a change. After this point, I will seek a new venture that I can grow and be excited in again. This is why I have chosen this strategy.
My exit strategy has had no impact on my plan throughout this semester. I have always seen this as a short term venture, however, I want it to be as successful as can be during my time of dedication to it. This means I work for it to succeed as much in my current plan as if I were to keep the company long term. Short-term success will allow me to sell out for more. Putting systems in place will allow the next owner a company to step into and strive in long after I am gone. The rest of my decisions are aimed at immediate market penetration and success.
Hi Cason, I appreciate the diversity of your answer. Typically the motivation to exit is to find more lucrative or growing opportunities, whereas you gave several reasons, both personal and practical, that would lead you to exit this venture. I have not your other posts to get the full understanding of your idea, but the challenge I see you facing is being able to profit enough upon exiting. This is a key goal of yours and I wouldn't be sure that 5 bikes on campus in seven years would put you in the position to use the earnings from this venture to pursue others. But maybe all of your costs have been low enough to allow this. I'm interested in reading more and might go back to your other posts!
ReplyDelete*I have not seen
DeleteHello Cason!
ReplyDeleteAs always, great job on this!
It was interesting to hear your perspective on expanding your company within the next seven years when we both have products and services in the same industry. Your perspective made me think differently on my potential exit strategy to sell out within a five year duration. The need for other coffee opportunities on campus is in high demand - perhaps I should stay in the market longer before exiting.
Thank you for sharing.
Caitlyn Torres
Hi Cason! Great post! I think you have a very real mindset and good determined exit strategy for your coffee bike venture. I and I agree that just because you plan on having this exit strategy doesn’t affect any decisions you make now or make it any less valuable. I, too, have somewhat of the same exit strategy and I feel many new entrepreneurs do. Great Post!
ReplyDeleteHi Cason,
ReplyDeleteI find it is very interesting that you highlighted the fact that online schooling can heavily effect businesses on campus, it is something I had not thought about that. I also find it interesting that you believe in seven years your input into the company will be at its max as well as expanding the company to have more bikes around campus. Great post!
~Sophia Scherzer
Hi Cason! I think you pretty much nailed it when saying how on-campus colleges will be changing. If it wasn't apparent before, I think this pandemic really brought this idea to the forefront of everyones mind. I mean, if we were able to drop everything and continue fully online, many people are thinking what was the point to begin with? Why am I paying for an apartment and living expenses when obviously I could have been doing this from home the entire time? Obviously there are reasons why in-person learning has the upper hand, but it is definitely an interesting idea to bounce around. Anyway, I liked hearing your ideas for an exit strategy. Thanks for sharing!
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