Understanding Exit Strategies: What Are The Options? Restaurant owners look to sell their businesses for a variety of reasons. In some cases, they intended from the start to build up a successful restaurant and then sell it for a profit. Other times, business is simply not going as well as they expected and they hope to get out before it falls. Sometimes, the workload is simply more than they can handle and they wish to cut back on the time they are spending there. Regardless of the reason, it is important that every owner know his or her options and has a restaurant exit strategy ready.

Liquidation

This is probably the most standard restaurant exit strategy that you will find people taking. Unfortunately, it is also the least profitable way to get out. The upside to liquidation is that it is relatively fast and easy. You simply choose to close your doors and start selling off the assets. The downside is that you are sacrificing a lot of the hard work you put in, because you really can’t expect to get more than the depreciated value of your assets. The better alternative to liquidation, assuming you have the time, is to look for a qualified buyer. Of course, there are still more colorful ways to get out. With that in mind, consider a couple of suggestions that you probably never expected to hear from a restaurant attorney.

Start Paying Yourself More

You put a lot of blood and sweat into building your restaurant, so doesn’t it make sense that you would want to get rewarded in kind? In this method, rather than keeping money in the business to reinvest and expand, you start taking out as much as possible to pay yourself a larger salary. Over time, the business will have no choice but to shut down and during the ride you pulled in a lot of extra money for your retirement. If you do opt for this route, do your employees a favor and let them know a while before closing to start looking for a new job.

Consider Becoming an Acquisition

If paying yourself more sounds a bit too unconventional, then consider selling your restaurant in style. Rather than simply looking to maintain your image, go to a competitor, especially one larger than you, and see if he or she is looking to get a new location. In essence, you would be creating a merger of restaurants and once the merger is complete, you would be free of operational responsibility. If you play your cards right, you can even get some residual income out of this deal. These are just a few of the different strategies that can help ensure you get out of your restaurant without having to worry about harmful financial implications down the road. Like any other aspect of business, the key to every restaurant exit strategy is to ensure you are prepared. When you find that you need to look into exit strategies for your restaurant business and wish to get assistance from a Boston restaurant attorney, contact Lewis Sassoon of Sassoon & Cymrot for individual guidance and consultation.