The End Game

Dear Friends, Do You Want to Ride Off into the Sunset? Proper planning today can make a world of difference in how you enter your Golden Years of Retirement. Have you thought about your End Game? If your Strategy for Success is based on winning the lottery - think again - I've already taken that one!

Let Me Tell You a Story or Two I have been part of a few start up companies in my career. For the most part these are some exciting times for any company - growth is exciting, building new products is a blast and building a network of wonderful clients takes the cake. But in two separate cases, a failure to think out the End Game caused grief, pain and a sense of loss.   In the first instance, Company A had a great business plan and a sound product line. The single mistake was that the location they chose never panned out. The exit strategy was to one day close the doors and send everyone home - bummer.   Company B was a bit more complex. The President of the company probably never had any plans of ever retiring. However, the CEO and Board had visions of an IPO and a nice retirement for all the vested employees. Since there was no agreement at the top, when the time came the President used his veto power to crash the buy out. Very few made any money, the company floundered, the President was fired and many lost their jobs - bummer.   I tell you these two sad stories to reiterate a famous saying "If your fail to plan, you plan to fail."   Strategies For Success This week, Will Hinman and John Holzscheiter from the Vermont Agency will be presenting a seminar on "Retirement Planning for Business Owners." This is your chance to talk to experts about successful strategies for your End Game. Join us in the St. Albans Free Library on Thursday, June 26 from 3:30 to 5:00. Admission is free. Register Here.    Shameless Plug! The Great Race is part of our Fourth of July tradition. Stop by the Chamber office and pick up a registration form or register on line at ACTIVE.COM (key word: Great Race XXXV). Don't want to race but would love to help out - call (802) 524-2444.

Thank you for your continued support of the Chamber in your community.

Dave Southwick