Bootstrapping
fromPsychology Today
6 hours agoWhy Business Owners Delay Exit Planning
Exiting a business can threaten identity and relevance for owners, complicating succession planning despite awareness of its necessity.
Craft Gin Club has warned lenders that it cannot continue without a financial restructuring that will strip bondholders of promised free gin deliveries. The company is seeking a Company Voluntary Arrangement (CVA) to extinguish £4.2 million of debt in exchange for 18.3% of equity.
Revenue-based finance allows repayments to fluctuate with takings, offering businesses greater flexibility during quieter trading periods. This model is increasingly favored by high street businesses facing financial pressures.
According to documents in the Northern District of Texas U.S. Bankruptcy Court, the owners of Yours Truly Media, Paul and Amy Bolton, filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy on Feb. 26. The couple listed their debts as primarily business-related, with liabilities of over $2 million. The creditors' list includes photographers and videographers the couple still owed thousands of dollars to, along with 478 couples from more than 10 states.
Private equity giant Carlyle has thrown a £150m lifeline to online retailer Very - just as mounting debt threatens to sink the company. Sources say the refinancing deal will keep Very afloat, giving breathing space to a business grappling with sky-high borrowing costs, fierce competition, and a cash-strapped consumer market. An insider commented: "Without this deal, Very could have faced serious trouble. Carlyle is betting big to save its investment - the stakes couldn't be higher."
From the outside, many entrepreneurs appear to be thriving. The business is stable or growing. Experience has replaced early uncertainty. Decisions are sharper than they used to be. By most traditional measures, things are working. Yet internally, something feels off. Energy feels flatter. Wins don't land the way they once did. The work feels heavier, even when results are strong.
To achieve ambitious targets during continued economic uncertainty, marketing strategies must evolve and adapt. This begs the question: how do we need to adjust our plans to better serve our consumer's needs? Let's first hone in on the biggest challenges we're currently facing as an industry. Understanding your customer and their needs Consumer shopping behavior is vastly different now than in 2019 and, while looking back on past data is still essential, we can't use it as robustly to predict trends.
"While it encouraging to see insolvency rates decrease, we know that big name brands are struggling and the outlook for 2026 is far from rosy. Retailers and hospitality businesses who had hoped for more support from the Autumn Budget are now facing increased uncertainty. It seems as though the New Year may already see another Government U-turn, this time backing down on plans to scrap business rates relief for pubs that has been in force since the pandemic."