Business owners seldom seek to exit their businesses without attaining financial security. They understand that one requirement of financial security is to grow business value, but many struggle to achieve this goal. Fortunately for these owners, Exit Planning can directly address their need to build business value and serve as an unexpected solution for owners who want to increase their …
The Two-Pronged Approach to Exit Planning
When business owners begin to think about their business exits, they tend to focus on one specific goal that they want to achieve. Some owners focus on when they want to exit, some focus on how much money they want when they exit, and others focus on the person or group that will take over once they exit. But what’s …
How Emotion Affects Your Business Exit
Generally, business owners feel comfortable being owners. They enjoy what they do, but rationally, they know they need to change their roles in their businesses eventually. But most owners don’t resist planning their exits on a rational basis. Instead, they resist Exit Planning at an emotional level. Consider Clancy, a 50-year-old business owner. He loves working at and owning his …
The Importance of Setting an Exit Date
According to surveys, up to 79% of business owners plan to exit their businesses within the next 10 years, with more than half saying they want to exit within the next five years. However, many business owners fall into the trap of the “rolling five-year Exit Plan,” in which owners constantly reset their exit dates for five years later. This …
Handling the Early Stages of Exit Planning
For business owners, the idea of exiting their businesses, which for many owners define their professional lives, can seem like a gigantic undertaking. They ask themselves, “How can I possibly do all of this? Where can I go for help, and what do I need to know?” These questions are perfectly normal to ask as you consider your business exit. …
How Does Exit Planning Protect Business Value?
When you set about starting your business, you likely had big goals and expansive dreams about its success. Whether success meant having an impact on your community, making as much money as possible, or something else, you probably wanted your business to become the ideal firm in your market. As you build your business toward the ideal, you concurrently build …
When Key Employees Stall Your Exit
An important part of a successful ownership transfer, regardless of Exit Path, is the presence of key employees. Key employees are those who have a direct and significant impact on business value, meaningfully participate in the business’ strategic future, and whose combination of skills and experience would be exceedingly difficult to replace. Because of their role in the business, key …
Knowing What You Have to Get What You Need
For many business owners, building their successful businesses began by accurately determining what they had. Whether their businesses provide products, services, or ideas, the success they experienced didn’t come to them blindly. It likely took years of refinement, study, and analysis to figure out the best way to establish and deliver the thing that makes the business successful. The same …
Setting Exit Goals for the New Year
With the new year upon us, many people have begun their journeys to fulfill their New Year’s resolutions. For business owners, it’s no different. Between creating goals for the business to achieve and assuring that the business keeps growing, owners will have much to consider this year. One of the goals most commonly shared by owners is to successfully exit …
Estate Planning: A Small Slice of a Bigger Pie
Business owners commonly associate Exit Planning with estate planning, and they aren’t too far off. Good Exit Plans and estate plans both aim to assure that the owner’s family is provided for after the owner is gone. Both an Exit Plan and an estate plan might address a transfer of ownership to an intended recipient following the death of the …