Every day, I read or hear about another story of government waste. For example, Business Insider recently recapped a few glaring examples: $42 million sent to a college that was ineligible to receive any federal funding, the Army wasting over $335 million on a contract to maintain Stryker vehicles due to lax cost-control measures, over $200 million single-family direct housing loans given to borrowers with poor credit or who were unexpected to be able to make their payment, and unfortunately, the list goes on… and on.
Each agency is equipped with an Inspector General (IG) whose job it is to investigate and identify government waste. As an owner of a mid-sized business, I’m sure there are days when you feel like an IG. And I’m also sure that you do a better job controlling waste than the government or you wouldn’t still be in business.
It’s critical to success to know all the details of your business; however, you can be so engrossed with daily details and costs that you miss the big picture. I’ve seen a lot of business owners who fail to step back and take time to create an exit plan because they are too wrapped up in the minutiae of daily costs. They’re worrying over a few dollars and end up losing hundreds of thousands or even millions of dollars when it’s time to sell their businesses. They don’t realize it until it’s too late.
By taking time now to create a solid exit plan, one that helps you achieve your personal and financial goals, you can avoid being the business owner who steps over dollars to pick up pennies. I can’t do much to rein in government waste, but I can help you maximize the value of your business. It’s never too soon to start.
