This is a summary review of Finish Big containing key details about the book.

What is Finish Big About?

“Finish Big” by Bo Burlingham explores the often-overlooked aspects of selling a business, providing insight and advice for business owners looking to maximize their company’s value. (Full Summary…)

Finish Big by Bo Burlingham Summary Review

“Finish Big: How Great Entrepreneurs Exit Their Companies on Top” by Bo Burlingham is a profound exploration of a critical but often overlooked aspect of entrepreneurship – the exit strategy. The author, well-known for his insightful work in “Small Giants,” brings his expertise to the challenging process of leaving a business successfully.

Burlingham’s narrative is anchored in the fundamental premise that every entrepreneur will exit their business sooner or later, and the key is to plan for it strategically and purposefully. The book emphasizes the importance of starting the exit planning process early to ensure not only a financially rewarding exit but also the preservation of the company’s culture and values.

The author draws from extensive interviews with entrepreneurs across various industries, presenting a diverse range of exit stories. Through these real-world examples, he identifies eight crucial factors that determine whether entrepreneurs are content with their exits. These factors delve into financial performance, growth potential, overdependence, cash flow, recurring revenue, unique value proposition, customer satisfaction, and the strength of the management team.

One of the notable strengths of “Finish Big” is its ability to blend storytelling with actionable insights. Burlingham shares anecdotes of entrepreneurs like Ray Pagano, Bill Niman, and Gary Hirshberg, providing readers with a tangible understanding of the challenges and triumphs associated with leaving a company. The book is not merely a theoretical guide but a practical resource offering lessons derived from the experiences of those who have navigated the exit process.

The exploration of the four stages of exit – exploration, strategy, execution, and transition – provides a structured framework for entrepreneurs to approach the complex journey of leaving their companies. Burlingham introduces the Sensibility Scale, a valuable tool for business owners to objectively evaluate their companies from various perspectives, facilitating a more comprehensive understanding of their value.

While the focus is on exit strategies, “Finish Big” also delves into the emotional aspects of the process. Burlingham acknowledges that owning a business is about more than financial transactions; it involves choices that shape both professional and personal life. The book encourages entrepreneurs to reflect on their desires, including whether they want to remain involved post-transition, their concerns about company culture, and their obligations to employees and customers.

Essentially, “Finish Big” stands as an indispensable guide for entrepreneurs contemplating their exit strategies. Bo Burlingham’s expertise and storytelling prowess create a compelling narrative that goes beyond financial considerations, addressing the holistic and intricate nature of leaving a business on one’s terms. This book is a valuable resource for business owners at any stage of their entrepreneurial journey.

Who is the author of Finish Big?

Bo Burlingham is currently a contributor to Forbes where he produces the magazine’s annual Small Giants section. Previously, he worked for 33 years at Inc. magazine, as senior editor, executive editor, and editor at large.

How long is Finish Big?

• Print length: 304 pages

What genre is Finish Big?

Business, Entrepreneurship, Leadership

What are good quotes from Finish Big?

“Canadian entrepreneur John Warrillow, who has started five businesses and sold four of them. “I don’t believe you are really an entrepreneur until you’ve exited because you haven’t completed the cycle. You’re still standing on third base. It is not about starting. Anyone can start a business. Until you’ve actually sold one, you haven’t touched all the bases.”

“First, the process will lead you to look for and adopt better business practices, as Ray Pagano did.”

“Just as important, thinking about an exit plan will force you to ask important, difficult questions about y
ourself.”
“I had to begin by clarifying in my own mind what a good exit consisted of. For most people, I’d found, there were four elements: 1) Owners felt that they’d been treated fairly during the exit process and appropriately”

“I’ve used pseudonyms, in some instances because of my source’s legal commitments, in others to avoid gratuitous harm to the people mentioned. When I have disguised an individual, I have so indicated. Other than changing names and, in two instances, some telltale details about the company, I have reported what actually happened.”

“Pagano put out a suggestion box to capture them and took care to respond to each one. He also began writing monthly letters to employees’ families, which he sent to their homes, and invited family members to come in to view new products. “We truly wanted to involve everyone in the business,” he said.”

“You’re going to have to extract yourself from the business,” he said. “You’re going to have to bring up your management team, give them more responsibility, coach them more, and let them run the operation.” Pagano didn’t argue. He knew Anderson was right. Sale price aside, the number of potential acquirers, and thus Pagano’s own exit options, would be severely limited as long as he was essential to the company’s operation. He had to remake the business so that it could run without him if he wanted to improve his chances of getting a deal he’d be happy with.”

“they focus on survival. Some never leave the survival stage. The more fortunate ones move on to the growth stage. Either way, they run the risk of getting caught in what Covey calls “the activity trap,” the tendency “in the busy-ness of life to work harder and harder at climbing the ladder of success only to discover it’s leaning against the wrong wall.”

“Busyness is certainly one of the reasons that owners don’t think about whether or not their journey is taking them to a place they really want to wind up. They’re constantly preoccupied—it goes with the territory—and figuring out the ultimate destination doesn’t seem particularly urgent alongside, say, meeting the next payroll or landing the next big customer”

“The mistake they make grows partly out of their tendency to regard the exit as simply an event, and a relatively distant one at that. But the exit is actually a critical phase of a business owner’s journey and an integral part of the entrepreneurial experience. “It’s like passing the 26.2-mile mark of a marathon, or crossing home plate after a home run,”

“And yet the end result is not always a happy one, even for those who wind up with a pile of money on the table. Despite having absolute financial security, often for the first time in their lives, many owners find themselves dealing with unanticipated regrets, fighting against depression, and desperately in need of a new identity and sense of purpose. For them, life after the exit is a bleak period, and it can last for years.”

“It’s also about successfully navigating the four stages of the exit process: Stage one is exploratory. It involves investigating the many possibilities, doing the necessary introspective work, and deciding what you do and don’t care about in an exit.”