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Mark Richardson: What is your end game?

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Mark Richardson: What is your end game?

Preparing a path for exiting your business calls for defining what you want your destination to be.


By Mark Richardson, CR, Contributing Editor September 19, 2013
This article first appeared in the CB September 2013 issue of Custom Builder.

You may have heard the adage that if you don?t know where you?re heading, any road will take you there. I think people have a natural yearning to have some sort of a passage, a next step, or an end game in mind. Yet, most business owners lack a well-defined plan for exiting their business. This condition may be  more acute among custom home builders just because of the very nature of the industry. Construction is a very easy entry type of business. It requires little capital or credentials to get in, and companies have very few tangible assets that have real  transferrable value.

I often ask owners if they would like to sell the business someday and most say yes. However, less than 1 percent of the construction businesses successfully sell. If the likelihood of selling is so low, then considering other ways to transition may make more sense.
 
So another question I often ask owners is, ?What do you want?? I know this sounds quite simplistic, but until you are clear about what you want, articulating your destination will be difficult and preparing a path to get there will be even harder. Business owners who are successful with this process want to completely get out of the business and move onto new interests. Others want to transition into doing more of what they love about their business and less of the other stuff. There are a few (like myself) that want to share knowledge and wisdom with others and find fulfillment by giving back. There isn?t a right or wrong answer to the destination question, but you do need to have an end in mind if your ever expect to get there.

Destination sharing

Once you have a destination, invest time to articulate it clearly with the understanding that it may change. Write down as many aspects of this magical place as you can. As you do, more questions will pop up, and more clarity will result.
 
Next, share this destination with others that you care about?both personal and professional friends and people who will be affected by these plans. Get their input and advice. Ask yourself questions such as, is this idea aggressive but realistic? What will the impact of this concept be on others? How long will it take to get there? What are my risks? What are the financial implications? These questions are no different than ones you would ask with a construction project.
 
Next, write out a plan. This plan should be holistic with specific actions and milestones to monitor. I also believe that if you tell others about your destination, then they will help you stay on track and burn your bridges so you can?t go backward.
 
In closing, I am not going to tell you what your end game should be. I will say most successful people have an end game. While I cannot map out a specific process, I can say you need a blueprint to achieve a positive end game. While I cannot comment on whether you should love what you do today, I can say doing the same thing three to five years from now is probably not what you want to be doing. Just take some time to dream again and you will begin to see the answers.
 
Mark Richardson is co-chairman of Case Design/ Remodeling Inc. and the Case Institute of Remodeling. He is a member of the NAHB Remodeling Hall of Fame and a Fellow at Harvard University?s Joint Center for Housing Studies. Richardson is the author of the best-selling book, ?How Fit is Your Business?,? and a forthcoming book, ?Business Themes to Live By.? He can be reached at mrichardson@casedesign.com.

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