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consistently reinvent your business model, you could be
disposing of a sports museum.
I hear your concerns about the big tax liabilities in
a major sale. And without addressing taxes here, you
should know that tax problems can be planned for also.
If the company is profitable at the magical sell moment
and providing good cash flow that covers its debt, it
should be very marketable. After all, there appears
to be a good supply of investors trying to get into the
sports industry. Granted, finding a qualified buyer may
take some time, but if your exit strategy has properly
been in effect, you have also been cultivating the right
buyer for years. Don't wait until the distress buyers
are picking at the carcass.
If you are still in the middle of your business
development and possibly mired in what seems like
hopeless debt, there is no more critical time to have
a comprehensive plan to get the business on a positive
cash flow course, plan for a profitable exit, and
make whatever tough decisions are necessary to get
the company in a win at the end
of the game. It's not easy, but most
wealthy former owners went through many struggles
to get to the closing table. If it were easy, the prize at
the end would not be millions.
It may be difficult to set a date to leave your pride
and joy. You may be having fun and fulfilling all those
dreams – proving you could do it no matter what "they"
said. But listen, you already did it, and if the fire is hot
you need to strike. Dreams tend to become cherished
memories when you walk away with carefully planned
buckets of cash.
Jim Cline is the Principal of The Goals Group, a
sports management and development consulting firm,
and a member of USIndoor's team of professional
consultants. Jim is also the director of USIndoor
Sport's CAO Certified Arena Operator accreditation
course and presenter of the 2019 State of the
Industry address. Jim has operated, designed, and
built indoor sports facilities for many years.
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