Greenleaf Book Group: Recent Survey Reveals Almost Half of All Business Owners Plan to Exit Within the Next Five Years, Shifting Their Exit Timeline Up By 20 Percent

New analysis from The Value Builder System^TM shows entrepreneurs' changing attitudes around exit planning as a result of COVID-19

TORONTO, ON / ACCESSWIRE / January 5, 2021 / The economic impact of COVID-19 has been swift and unrelenting for small business owners. Now, in the wake of another spike, many businesses continue to face challenges of profitability and solvency, resulting in uncertainty about the future of their life's work and, ultimately, forcing owners to consider shuttering or selling their businesses sooner than anticipated.

Researchers at The Value Builder System analyzed 9,765 questionnaires completed by business owners from around the world who use their software. Researchers divided the sample set into two cohorts:

1. Pre-COVID (June 15, 2019 - March 14, 2020)
2. During COVID (March 15 - Sept. 15, 2020)

Researchers identified a number of differences when comparing the Pre-COVID cohort to the During COVID group. Among the During COVID group, researchers identified:

• A 350 percent increase in the proportion of owners expecting their revenue to decrease when compared to owners who completed the questionnaire Pre-COVID.
• A 17 percent increase in the proportion of owners who plan to sell their business to a third party and a corresponding 42 percent drop in the proportion of owners who plan to pass their business down to their children.
• A 20 percent decrease in the proportion of owners planning to hang on to their business for 10 or more years. Almost half of the During COVID cohort now say they plan to exit their business within five years.

"Small business owners have been punched in the mouth by COVID-19," said John Warrillow, the founder & CEO of The Value Builder System and author of the upcoming book, The Art of Selling Your Business. "Owners have endured a lot since the pandemic started and many are now looking to sell externally instead of passing the stresses of their business to their kids. Hundreds of thousands of businesses have been lost and the ones that survived are now looking to get out at levels we've never seen before."

View the full The Value Builder System^TM questionnaire results here and stay updated on Warrillow's work at www.builttosell.com.

More about The Value Builder System

The Value Builder System is a simple software used by thousands of businesses worldwide for building the value of a company. Offered by a global network of independent advisors known as Certified Value Builders, The Value Builder System incorporates several diagnostic tools, including the Value Builder Score. Those businesses that achieve a Value Builder Score of 90 or greater are worth double our average-performing business.

More about John Warrillow

John Warrillow is the founder of The Value Builder System. Prior to founding The Value Builder System, he started and exited four companies, including one acquired by a public company.

His best-selling book Built to Sell: Creating a Business That Can Thrive Without You was recognized by both Fortune and Inc. as one of the best business books of 2011. Following that success, John released the best-selling book The Automatic Customer: Creating a Subscription Business in Any Industry. John now completes his business book trilogy with the upcoming release of The Art of Selling Your Business: Winning Strategies & Secret Hacks for Exiting on Top, available everywhere books are sold January 12, 2021.

CONTACT:

O'Licia Parker-Smith
Work: 512-891-6100
[e-mail]

SOURCE: Greenleaf Book Group

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