What’s Your Exit Plan As A Soloist—And Do You Really Need One?

When I started my first consulting business—with employees—we had a very clear exit plan.

Turns out it wasn’t the ripcord we pulled, but it did serve as a guiding strategy in growing the business, including making key investment decisions.

My second (brief) and now third (15 years and counting) businesses have been solo by design.

There was no exit plan at first—I was so happy to be done with Corporate America that I figured I’d just keep doing my solo thing until it was time to hang up my cleats.

But after a few years, I realized I needed to think longer term (and bigger).

Because some day I might want to pivot and do something else. And that would be lots easier with a hefty stack of cash.

So I created a very simple plan. It fits on a page—a half-page really—even in a 14-point font.

I don’t think about it every day or even every month, but it is part of how I make decisions.

So when I learned my pal Erin Austin started a new podcast “Hourly To Exit”, I immediately signed on (after dusting off my old exit plan).

You can listen to our epi on claiming your revolution here,  but why not download and binge on the first handful of episodes? Even if you’re just musing about leveraging your work, they are worth the listen.

So let’s talk about your exit plan for a sec: as a soloist, do you need one?

No surprise, I’m gonna argue yes, even if you’re not interested in ever hiring employees to build your empire.

Because hiring employees is only one way to build a saleable asset.

As an expert, you’re continually building intellectual property that you can slice and dice in almost infinite ways.

You can sell your work directly (books, content), use it to support your services (consulting, training, coaching, speaking) or even train others to deliver it (licensing).

Until you start to really explore what you have—and how it’s delivering outsized results to your clients and buyers—it’s difficult to ensure you’re making the best decisions for you and your business.

So give this some thought. Give Erin’s podcast a listen. And start envisioning what your ultimate exit might look like.

Because you never know what you might want to do next…

p.s. Like what you see here? Head on up to that orange bar to sign up pronto and I’ll deliver my weekly insights directly to your in-box.