I had dinner last night with a 58-year old business owner who has three partners ranging in age from 42 – 28. His advice was to start a business with people at different life stages so when you’re ready to sell your company, there is a built in market for your shares among your younger cofounders.

Finding cofounders at a different life stage is such a simple idea but I can honestly say I had never heard that advice before. I think we’re often drawn to start businesses with people like us which means our cofounders are at the same life stage and start looking for the exit door at the same time.

Sometimes the simplest ideas — select partners at a different life stage — are also some of the best.

Here are three new articles for you about building a company you could sell:

Finnish shoe firm pays lifetime royalties

~ published October12, 2010 Globe and Mail

The answer to your business problem can occasionally be found by looking at how other industries have solved a similar challenge.

Take, for example, Pomarfin, a smallish family-owned shoe maker based in Pomarkku, Finland. Even though the company manufactured its shoes in nearby Estonia, where costs are lower, Pomarfin found itself competing with Asian companies with a manufacturing cost base around one-fifth that of Estonia. Squeezed for profits, Pomarfin had a decision to make: »more

Full disclosure: This post is not for everyone. There are a lot of great reasons to build a business of your own, including providing much-needed jobs, giving back to your community, building a legacy for your kids to inherit or making a difference in some other way. But if these are your business goals, move on to read something else; this post will only frustrate you.  If you see your business as an extension of your personality or a creative expression, keep creating and stop reading. If, however, you are Machiavellian in your attitudes and see business as a way to generate money »more