You have been running your business successfully for many years and it is profitable. You know that there is still growth in your market but you may now be considering other things you could do, once you have the time and the capital. You may have been approached about selling your business, considered it, dismissed it or tried and the process broke down. You have seen other companies and competitors exit and achieve value and you instinctively know that you have more value in your business than many others. The problem is that your challenge is complex. Firstly, you don’t want your team, customers or suppliers to hear that you are contemplating an exit and secondly, you are the only person who can see how the strategic value of your business can be realised. Third, you want a tax efficient capital gain for the business whilst being assured that it will continue and not falter because you have left.
Quote Mark Mills on entrepreneur exit >
Born in Scotland in 1847 Alexander Graham Bell was a scientist, inventor and engineer who created the first practical telephone. His mother and wife were both profoundly deaf and this influenced Bell's experiments with hearing devices which led to his great invention. Bell had to fight hard in the patent courts to secure his invention but he succeeded and in 1876 offered to sell it to Western Union for $100K. This was rejected but two years later in 1878 the president of WU offered $25M and this time Bell refused. Bell was a man of great insight. In 1920 he prophesied on producing methane from the waste of farms (widely used today) and the use of solar panels on roofs to heat homes. He also invented data transmission using light as the transmission medium (now fibre optics) and patented it in 1880. The image shows Bell making the first call from New York to Chicago in 1892.