Weds 11th March 2026
Susie Warran-Smith CBE DL came to entrepreneurial success somewhat later in her working life. She spent many years working in finance in the corporate world before, in 2015, deciding the time was right for her to start her own business. A business that, five years later, she sold to Ernst & Young for a number of millions. In today’s WBG breakfast meeting she shared her strategy for success.
Susie suggested that everyone in self-employment has an exit strategy in mind, and there are a number of options for this strategy…
- Sell the business
- Pass the business on to family
- Cash in, but carry on working in the business
However, not everyone starts their business thinking about their exit strategy, and this is the barrier to success. Whatever you wish to do down the road, as a business owner you need to focus your energies on shaping the business for that end point. Susie started with a business sale in mind, and organised her company appropriately. Whilst in early days she wore many hats, she always delegated and trained staff appropriately, and created robust procedures, so that the business could, eventually, run without her. At that point a potential buyer could come in and see a business that would continue to thrive without its founder, making a sale much easier.
So do you have your exit strategy? Are you prepared to work towards that goal?
