You are the founder of your business. You want to EXIT your business in the future and you know there is probably something you need to do now to get ready. I have talked about reasons and benefits in other articles (see a couple articles linked below), but in this series of 4 articles, I want to tell you about the 12 steps we use in our EXIT readiness process. You can use these too.
A big part of creating change happens before you get to the Implementation stage. A lot of the evaluation, decision making, ideating, and discoveries happen before we implement a strategy. We’ll look at the 4 steps in the ‘E’ and the 2 in ‘X’, in the EXIT Readiness process in other articles, but first, I wanted to start you where change happens, in the ‘I’ part – the Implementation Stage.
The Implementation Stage in EXIT Readiness
Once you know what you want to change & why, what resources you have, what you will need, and how to get your team on-board with the change, you can move into implementation. Implementation is the doing part of your change strategy. This is the place between doing what you used to do (the way it was) and what you hope to do in the future (the goal). William Bridges called this The Neutral Zone [1]. This is a difficult time filled with emotions, excitement, worry, confidences, conflict, and unknowing-ness.
Getting started will be an exciting and energy-filled time. During the implementation people may be asking, “Are we there yet?” or “How much longer?” Some people in your team will be leading the change and some will be managing the unchanging work. Some might even feel like they don’t belong anywhere because they know their own value before the changes started and cannot picture their work after the company completes its change. You may be one of them, but getting this done right ensures that the business can be run without your constant input and can be sold without having to sell you with it.
The Three Steps of Implementation (Plan, Prepare and Produce. )
Implementation is the action step; it is the stage where the change happens. Before implementation you must have:
- evaluated your options
- decided on what are willing and able to spend
- decided on who on your team will be taking part in this transition
- decided on where you want to go
You then need to implement the work to get you, your team, and your business through the transition to your ultimate goal.
The three steps in the Implementation Stage of the EXIT Readiness Program are, Plan, Prepare, and Process.
Plan
Now that you have decided where you are going in this change — you need to set the path that everyone will follow.
Maybe, to sell your business, you will need to:
- Get some of your leaders to step up into more management roles.
- Let go of some of the responsibilities that, in the past, only you could do.
- Change your business structure to be more easily sold.
- Update your brand.
- Identify what type of sale you will want to secure.
Identify what resources you will be paying for first, second, third, and so-on, throughout the change. This will help you plan the path you need to follow. If, an expensive overhaul of equipment has been identified, you would need to plan for the required time needed to ensure that value of the business is not affected by the investment. That cost recovery time would need to be known. It is not just the cost of purchasing the equipment, it is…
- the time and manpower to install it,
- the training of staff on the safe use of it,
- the writing of procedures to ensure proper usage,
- the purchasing of insurance to ensure continuity and stability,
- getting the proper licences and regulatory approvals, etc.
Knowing this cost helps identify the time required to implement. A single required change used to make the business more valuable and less dependant on you can cost you several years to implement. In those years, you need to have a plan to be able to manage the changes. By setting measurable milestones now, you can reduce the challenge of staying on track later. If the path of the journey is not known, you could end up anywhere, which may not be a desirable outcome for your business now, nor to attract buyers in the future.
Prepare
In this step you are starting to invest in the ‘doing’ and you are blocking the time to make it happen. Not just your time, but the time of everyone assigned to help in some way. For example, you may need to invest in new equipment, software, or people to make the next step happen. You are getting your milestones into the calendar, with the expected, measurable outcome you are hoping to reach at each point. At this point, you know you will be doing some new things that you, and/or your team, have not done before, so you are defining the expectations around the outcomes (whether you make the goal, or miss it).
Process
Finally, you need to get into production. This is where you begin implementing the change, following a process you prepared to get started. This process will change as it is used and learned. Creating process and procedures to follow helps you and your team set expectations for the transition, as well as creates the consistency you will need for current and ongoing success. It is important to have continued excellence in the process you used before, so your business can continue to serve and be profitable. It is also important to be working towards excellence in the future process of the transition, so that, after the change, the business will still have excellence and will be able to do that without your (the founder’s) constant control.
Trip Analogy
Let’s look at this as if the change you were going to put into place, was that of going on a trip. After you have decided where you want to go, who you will go with, and how much you want to spend (pre-implementation steps), you need to get into action to make that happen. Plan the time you will need, the places you want to stay, how you will get there, and the costs in time and money that will be required. The only time spent so far, is in the planning. If you chose to change your mind now, you would be out minimal costs in the time spent to research and discuss options.
Then you need to book the room, the flight, the excursions, etc. An hour before I wrote this article, I was in ‘preparing’ mode, for a convention I plan on flying to in December. On top of everything else, (flight, room, excursions) which I had already booked, I wanted to ensure I had a place to park at the airport, out of the weather. December, in Toronto, can be very cold and come with a lot of snow, and that is not what I wanted to come home to. So, I booked my parking at the underground parking lot, connected to the airport. Planning to book parking was the first step, paying for the booking, was the action.
In our trip analogy, the ‘Producing’ step is when the trip is happening. You still need to pack, get to the airport, bring your tickets, make the flight, get to your hotel, be on your excursions, and enjoy the your time. You are evaluating your trip as you go.
- Do I have my passport, my phone, my tickets, and my keys for the car?
- Have I paid for a phone plan that will work in the vacation location.
- Have I turned on my email auto-response?
- Do I have my milestones set correctly, so I can get to the airport on time to make my flight?
Once you are home, you can evaluate the overall experience
- Was that worth my time?
- Did I get what I wanted out of the experience?
- Would I pay for that again?
Your business is much more valuable than a trip. Spend the time needed to prepare your business, your people and yourself so you can more easily EXIT later.
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Other articles on reasons and benefits of why you want to get ready to EXIT.
- 3 Ways to Look at Being Ready to EXIT
- Your “After” Affects Your “Now”
- Update Your Business Now for Value Now
- 3 Bonuses to Preparing Now
[1] The Bridges Transition Model – https://wmbridges.com/about/what-is-transition/
This article is 100% original content – The articles you read in this blog are 100% created by Barb Stuhlemmer, not by AI. © 2025 Barb Stuhlemmer
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