1.) I probably would not sell my business for a few years. I would definitely not sell it until it took off more and was stable enough to be sold for a large profit. This business will likely take a while for it to grow into something that is worth selling. I expect this to be within the next 7 years. I do not think that staying with this business long term is a good decision because once I get my product out, I will need help to distribute and get it all over the world. Since I am not a big company I think that I will need to sell this to a larger company and let them do the distribution.
2.)I have selected this strategy because it would be very difficult for me to get to many restaurants by myself. Most restaurants buy their supplies and furniture from large scale distributors. They are not thinking of small businesses when they are purchasing equipment because it just takes too much effort. They likely would not even find my business or would not even give it a second thought. I could go in and try to sell this product to many restaurants but in the end to be able to reach a wide spread group of restaurants this is not possible. So, I will need the help of a distribution company. This is who I would sell my business too.
3.)I think that this exit strategy has had no influence on the opportunity itself. I have proclaimed that this opportunity is one that exists and is awaiting a solution. I do however think that this strategy has influenced how I have thought about the growth of this business. I have always known that a small business will not work for getting this product out to a large audience. It just takes too much time and there are many restaurants that do not have the time to deal with small businesses. While some small family owned restaurants may want to work with me, they are not all. This is what I would start out my business with and use to help it grow. I would also like this product to be present in many chain restaurants. For this, I will need to become apart of a larger company. In terms of acquiring resources I do not think that this exit strategy has influenced that. I know that in the beginning I will have to acquire resources by myself. This could prove a little bit of a challenge. When I do sell this business though the large company will have an easier time getting the resources the business needs to be successful.
Seven years sounds like a fair amount of time to be staying with your business. That will give you more time to grow and develop the product while also seeing if you can partner with larger companies. I feel like many people, maybe because we are still at the college age, think that as of right now it would be a safer bet to leave the products that we thought of in the hands of larger, or in my case, more experienced firms or groups. There is nothing wrong with that, however, I do wonder if thoughts would change after college or if the product is met with a great deal of success.
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