John, a man in his early 60’s, is an entrepreneur whose software company has coasted along for years. The business is growing steadily, although at a much slower pace than 20 years ago.

John is financially set for life and wants to enjoy retirement by traveling with his wife and spending time with his grandchildren. Although there’s no immediate hurry, he’s looking to cash out of his company, which is now largely in the hands of his capable daughter.

John is what Ami Kassar, founder and chief executive officer of Multifunding LLC, calls an Exiter. This is one of four types of entrepreneurs. The other three she identifies as Growers, Gliders and Speed-bumpers, which we describe and differentiate today and tomorrow in Promotional Consultant Today.

Growers: A grower is the type of entrepreneur typically depicted in film, on television, in books and all other forms of media. These are the businesspeople looking to expand their operations rapidly. They generally have a healthy appetite for assuming risk and are loaded with self-confidence.

John, the Exiter, meets two other entrepreneurs, Jason and Tara, who are Growers. He asks them what they’d do if they received a $1 million gift. Will they invest all (or most) of that money directly into their business or will they hold on to it, essentially saving it for a rainy day?

John is happy to hear that his newfound friends don’t hesitate before saying they are confident in their business and figured that investing the money would go a long way toward solving their growth issues.

John tells them that since their business prospects are solid, there would be numerous financing options available for them ranging from the tried-and-true Small Business Administration (SBA) loan to the practice of factoring to everything in between.

Gliders. John also meets Mary, whose small custom-framing chain of stores is stable and profitable. She is a Glider. She tells the group that she’s reached a happy point where she’s making a solid amount of money, expects her business to remain sound and is loath to wreck a good thing.

John’s been somewhat of a mentor to Mary over the years, so he poses the same hypothetical $1 million gift question he just asked Jason and Tara. At first, she said she would place a significant chunk of that gift into mutual funds and be happy with a smaller return, but still be able to use it if needed. After more thought, she decided to place about 75 percent of the gift in her business because she realized she was already generating a higher return than what a mutual fund offered.

John approved, noting that keeping a business on an even keel is never a bad thing, especially for someone like Mary, who is beginning to consider retirement options. He also pointed out that since her business is doing well, there’d be no shortage of palatable financial options available if the need arose.

Want to hear more of John’s advice for entrepreneurs? Read PCT again tomorrow.

Source: Ami Kassar is the founder and chief executive officer of Multifunding LLC, and a speaker and author of the forthcoming book The Growth Dilemma. With two decades of experience in business finance, Kassar has advised the White House, the U.S. Treasury Department and the Federal Reserve Bank on the state of the financing markets. A nationally-recognized expert on business capital, Kassar has helped over 700 entrepreneurs generate over $300 million for their businesses.