Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.
It's ever champion to commencement astatine the end!
Why commencement astatine the opening arsenic grandma told you to do erstwhile you tin commencement astatine the extremity doing things backward and better? In making bold moves toward saccharine financial freedom that comes pinch entrepreneurial success, you'll undoubtedly perceive from good-intentioned advisors saying entrepreneurs should conscionable get started taking 1 measurement astatine a time.
As a U.S. Army veteran, I'd promote you to do an "about face" worker and caput successful the other direction. While it is surely important to statesman — to bring the dream to fruition — the astir superb business owners intentionally commencement astatine the end, strategically establishing a clear way to make their large imagination a reality. Below, I stock my "backward approach" — 3 steps propelling the rebels, underdogs and friends successful business consecutive to the top.
Related: How A Departure From Conventional Wisdom Can Lead to Success
Step 1: Visualize the extremity goal
Some group are happy building a mom-and-pop business. Others want to beryllium the adjacent Elon Musk. To each their own. However, arsenic sports icon Yogi Berra erstwhile stated, "If you don't cognize wherever you are going, you mightiness extremity up location else."
Hard lessons learned by starting astatine the beginning:
When I sewage joined the first time, I was 20 years old. We were starting astatine the beginning, fresh to service successful the Army and walk clip pinch friends. Four years later, I was a divided azygous mother of 2 kids. If I had visualized the extremity goal, this is not what I had successful mind. Thankfully, the beingness granted maine a 2nd chance, and this time, I started pinch the extremity end of a beautiful family successful mind. Now, I've been happily remarried for complete 21 years. My boy is simply a rule student, my girl is simply a veterinary medicine student, and I bask hiking often successful the California sun. I tin corroborate that a backward attack is golden!
Successful outcomes pinch a backward approach:
Jim Cragg, a 30-year subject veteran, envisioned redeeming his location successful the arena of a earthy disaster. He devised a scheme successful beforehand of the 2025 Palisades occurrence successful Los Angeles. As a result, erstwhile wildfires began raging and upending people's lives, Cragg, who had taken clip to thoughtfully found his exit strategy, attached revolving plot sprinklers and hoses astir his spot earlier making a getaway. As a consequence of visualizing his extremity end to prevention prized possessions, erstwhile the clip arose to execute, he was ready. He took action, weathered formidable firestorms and achieved his extremity goal. His backward attack was monumental to persevere done utmost hardship and execute immensely valuable outcomes.
In business, it pays to visualize the extremity goal:
Avoiding a backward attack leads to the mostly of U.S. business owners not ending up wherever they want to be. Only 17% of business owners person created a written exit plan, and 80% yet database their business for waste but neglect to find a buyer. Planning the exit is simply a captious facet of creating a valuable legacy. At my company, Legalucy, we thief business owners scheme their exit strategy from time one. In addition, we secured Pam Marrone, 1 of astir 22 women-led companies to person led her institution to an IPO, arsenic our ain exit strategies advisor.
Marrone taught Legalucy that exit strategies should beryllium tailored to a company's maturation imaginable and marketplace positioning, and while immoderate businesses purpose for niche markets pinch plans to waste to larger companies wrong a fewer years, others, for illustration her ain ventures, target broader markets pinch a longer timeline for acquisition aliases IPO. Marrone highlighted that investors typically expect a defined exit timeline, often tied to gross milestones.
She advised america to place imaginable acquirers and see this accusation successful our business scheme to show foresight and strategic planning. This attack not only satisfies investor inquiries; it besides helps to support a clear imagination for the company's early trajectory. Like Legalucy, you should return a backward attack from time 1 to guarantee you spell wherever you want to go.
Related: The How-To: Building An Exit Strategy For Your Business (Even Before You Start)
Step 2: Reverse technologist milestones
Rebels, underdogs and friends successful business prioritize reverse engineering to guarantee winning outcomes. At Legalucy, for example, we reverse technologist financial models, exertion rollout plans and transportation decks. The milestones we prime let for entrepreneurial elasticity arsenic we persevere toward clear objectives.
Our exit strategies advisor besides highlighted the value of preparing for various scenarios, noting that "timing and luck are very overmuch involved." Marrone's institution developed a three-year IPO scheme based connected proposal from bankers who outlined 5 cardinal milestones. These objectives were beneficial for the business sloppy of the eventual exit strategy. By breaking down these goals into quarterly actionable steps, Marrone's squad created a roadmap that enhanced the company's worth to entreaty to imaginable acquirers aliases nationalist marketplace investors. This method of reverse engineering milestones not only prepares a institution for exit opportunities but besides drives wide business maturation and success.
Step 3: Leverage branding, resources and teammates to execute
After visualizing the extremity end and readying milestones, you'll beryllium positioned to execute the scheme by leveraging personal branding, partnerships and cultivating a superstar team. Strategically establishing your individual marque early connected and aligning it pinch the company's imagination enhances credibility to pull investors. Solidifying partnerships, a committee of advisors and a squad pinch complementary skillsets lays a coagulated instauration for growth.
For example, I grew up successful a small, agrarian municipality pinch small economical opportunity. As a teen, I lived pinch my grandmother. Although I wanted to beryllium a lawyer, the position quo constricted maine to becoming a cheerleader, pageant queen aliases caregiver. To found my individual marque arsenic a breakthrough leader, I enlisted successful the U.S. Army First Infantry Division and served progressive work overseas. I was a contestant connected NBC's Fear Factor pinch Joe Rogan, and I moved to Silicon Valley and became a finance litigator and tech founder.
As a consequence of the individual branding I created, my institution — attracting opportunities to activity pinch Mark Lemley, the apical cited IP ineligible clever clever worldwide; Eddie Hartman, co-founder of Legalzoom; Eren Bali, laminitis of edtech unicorn, Udemy; and Adeo Ressi, laminitis of Founder Institute and erstwhile roommate of Elon Musk, arsenic we built the #1 pre-lawyer ineligible level connected the market. In 2024, we were highlighted by The Legaltech Fund arsenic a apical early-stage Gen AI company.
As Legalucy's exit strategies advisor shared, "Everything I did personally ever was benefiting the company." This attack proved important to Marrone's IPO success, demonstrating really a founder's individual marque tin importantly effect a company's marketplace position.
Building a beardown squad is besides vital, pinch a attraction connected taste alignment and shared values. Marrone emphasized the value of being "mission-driven" and advised america to question and reply candidates for culture fit first. She recommended establishing clear institution values early and conducting regular assessments. This proactive attack helps forestall "cultural drift" and ensures the statement remains aligned pinch ngo and goals. By prioritizing individual branding, beardown resources and squad building, businesses tin create a coagulated instauration for executing milestones and driving semipermanent success.
Related: 5 Effective Ways to Build a Winning Team
Persevere to win!
For rebels, underdogs and friends successful business, occurrence is not random — it's a strategical process of intentional design. By taking a backward approach, you'll crystallize the extremity goal, reverse technologist milestones and deliberately build your individual brand, partnerships and squad to execute. By doing so, you'll efficaciously toggle shape your purple comets imagination into reality. Entrepreneurs pinch the audacity to judge they tin win and who execute and persevere, yet triumph gold.
English (US) · 
Indonesian (ID) ·