Ep101: Julie Gordon White on Planning a Successful Exit Strategy

Ep101 Show Notes

About Julie Gordon White

Julie Gordon White is a certified business broker that has over 23 years of corporate, entrepreneurial and business brokerage experience. Julie founded BlueKey Business Brokerage M&A in 2003 to maximize her passion for entrepreneurship through the sale and acquisition of companies with revenues up to $10 million. In 2011, Julie founded www.ExitJourney.com to help share her message of “Value Your Business, Value Yourself” in a much bigger way. Julie is the President of California Association of Business Brokers and is a trusted media resource for Inc. Magazine, Entrepreneur Magazine, Bloomberg BusinessWeek, San Francisco Business Times and others. Julie was also honored for her accomplishments in 2011 by the Women Presidents’ Organization and OPEN American Express.

Key Conversation Points

• Avoiding confusion, gaining clarity
• Honoring your comfort zone and pacing yourself
• Following the ideal business strategy for you
• Growing your business with intent to sell it
• Understanding how to value your business
• Documenting your systems
• Understanding the art of the deal
• Trusting your intuition

Detailed Conversation Highlights

Julie describes herself as an extrovert that has a deep appreciation for the times when she requires solitude. It is important to acknowledge that everybody needs social interaction and solitude, just in different amounts. The concept of perusing “the big idea” is important, but can lead to problems unless your goals are broken down in to smaller, manageable tasks. If you connect with your comfort zone and make sure that you spend time growing your business in a way that works for your personality and goals, you will take risks with greater success. Staying in your comfort zone does not equate to inaction, which is a common misconception. When starting your business, it is easy to suffer information overload.

With the possibility of obtaining massive amounts of information and confusion surrounding how and if to integrate it into your business strategy, you might be doing yourself a disservice. It is beneficial to think of your business’ exit strategy from the beginning since so many pass through different hands through acquisition, inheritance, etc. It is imperative that you are on top of your business financials, and review them on a regular basis — even as often as weekly depending on the type of business. Thoroughly understanding the process and components of your business will give you the freedom and confidence to enjoy the journey. There is no one particular way to handle a departure from your business, as it’s determined by the type of business you run, your prospective buyers/partners and your specific goals. No matter what, it never hurts to “think big,” but trust in your intuition.