Exit Strategy

The Entrepreneur's Guide to Selling Your Business Without Regret

By: Rob Walling, Sherry Walling

Narrated by: Rob Walling, Sherry Walling

Sell your business. Stick the landing. We’ll show you how.

Exit Strategy is everything you need to know about selling a business.

Dr. Sherry Walling, a clinical psychologist specializing in entrepreneur mental health, and Rob Walling, a serial entrepreneur who has secured life-changing sums in multiple exits, have teamed up to provide you with a roadmap for navigating this treacherous terrain, offering a rare combination of practical savvy and emotional nuance that can only come from a true understanding of the journey.

Exit Strategy will teach you:

• When is the right time to sell? Including frameworks to decide if you want to sell, when it’s the right time, and what you want to get out of it.
• Navigating the process & players. Practical instructions on how to structure your deal, build your support team, and minimize any collateral damage to yourself, your employees, and your family.
• Beyond the big check. Here’s where most books on selling your business stop. But your life goes on. This book will help you manage the huge range of financial, experiential, and relational experiences you’ll have after the sale.

Whether you’re thinking about selling your business, you’re midway through the process, or you’ve just come out the other side dizzy and disoriented, Exit Strategy will help you avoid million-dollar mistakes and set yourself up to thrive in your next phase of life.

©2024 Rob Walling and Sherry Walling (P)2024 Rob Walling and Sherry Walling

The Psychological and emotional aspects of planned exits

This was my favorite listen so far for books written on the mental fatigue and potential anguish of exiting a business. I believe that most business owners do not fully understand the complexity and emotional toll of exiting your life’s work. The Wallings keep it real and prepare owners for what lies ahead.

Think About What’s Next Before Selling - Also Probably What You’ll Feel When Reading This Book

TLDR: One strong thesis does stand out: before you sell, seriously ask yourself what you want next. For many founders the business is their identity. Selling without a clear answer to “then what?” can leave you unmoored.

Useful, practical information on selling a business from someone who’s done it successfully multiple times.

The book is wildly too long for the amount of substance it delivers, much of it feels stretched and padded.

Sherry Walling’s sections come across as overly emotional, highly repetitive, and largely redundant. They read like a forced or charitable inclusion rather than meaningful addition. The book would be noticeably stronger (and much shorter), if her commentary were removed completely.

Worth a skim.