It is safe to say that this year was full of surprises. Some businesses thrived, while in other areas jobs were lost, companies were forced to go under, and we even lost loved ones along the way. Many businesses were affected by the pandemic in some way or another. According to a survey conducted by the PNAS (Proceedings of the …
Keep Your Family Intact with Proper Estate Planning
It can be difficult to consider what will happen to your business and your family if you die unexpectedly. Without proper planning, you could be leaving your family and/or key stakeholders in a huge mess. Proper planning allows you to keep your business on the right path even after an unexpected tragedy leaves you unable to continue running your business. …
Don’t Let Your Key Employees Jump Ship
Next-level management teams are the drivers behind building business value. But how can you and your advisors attract and keep next-level management teams? The answer lies within incentive plans. When incentive plans are properly designed and implemented, your business has the potential to grow well after you sell. Well-executed incentive plans can motivate each member of your management team to …
If You Don’t Uncover the Skeletons in Your Closet, Your Buyer Will
Starting the preparations to sell your business is never easy. Selling or buying a business comes with mixed emotions and hard decisions. There are a lot of variables to consider. One action item to discuss early is the process of due diligence. In order for you to attract a buyer to your company, you must engage in the pre-sale due …
Ingredients to Jumpstart the Planning Process
Taking on any large project can be manageable when you have a reliable process in place. When deciding to exit your business, for example, you will need a proven process in place to ensure you have covered all the bases. Just like baking, without following the specific process or recipe, you could end up setting off the fire alarms. There …
The Process of Selling Your Business Has Already Begun
When you started your business, it was probably obvious that you needed a plan. It may be less obvious, though, that when you leave your business, no matter how you do it, you’ll also need a plan. The reality is that every action you take during the life of your business has an impact on your departure down the road. …
Not All Strategies Are Created Equal
Succession planning, Exit Planning, and business planning may seem interchangeable in most people’s eyes. However, each type of planning plays a very different role in the process of designing, and then implementing, a strategy for leaving your business and planning for the future. You can’t use one strategy without the others when it comes to running, growing, operating, and eventually …
Find Your Best Path to the Future
You can’t get anywhere if you don’t know where you’re going. It’s also obvious that once you know where you’re going, you need to lay out a path that will take you there. But things that are obvious are not always easy. It can be helpful to adopt a process that is customized to your needs but is based on …
Funding a Sale to “Insiders”
When imagining the future of their businesses, and possibly a future that involves different ownership at some point, owners may wonder if it’s really possible to consider “insiders” (employees, children, or co-owner) as viable successor owners. Insiders are often a great match for company culture, leadership style, and vision. But they may lack one very important element – money to …
Rethinking Cash Flow
While there are many uncertainties when planning for the future, one factor that is almost always essential to the success of your future plans is cash flow. Measuring your company’s cash flow and knowing what aspects of your business can be affected by the health of your cash flow are even more crucial in today’s economy. Having an accurate representation …