Merger & Acquisition Insights

Do you remember trying to solve a complex maze as a child? You’d start at the beginning, trace a line toward what you thought was the correct path to the end, only to run headlong into a wall. So, you’d start again, only to run into a different wall. But then, someone who had experience solving complex mazes may have …

When thinking about business planning, one aspect you may be tempted to overlook is the contributions of your key employees. Key employees are the lifeblood of well-run businesses, and they play an important role when owners begin to plan for their businesses’ futures, especially when owners begin to plan for their inevitable business exits. Many owners find that unless they …

As a business owner, you’re likely used to having as much control over how the business functions as possible. You’re the go-to person for big decisions and you own the consequences of those decisions, whether they’re good or bad. This attitude is often good and sometimes necessary for the business’ success. But when you begin to consider how you will …

As a business owner, you know that planning is crucial, and that the new year is typically when you implement new strategies. As the new year begins, many business owners have begun to examine what they’ll do, if anything, about the long-term future of their businesses. Winston Churchill once said, “Failing to plan is planning to fail.” Today, we’ll look …

When preparing for a large-scale event—such as an extended trip to a foreign country, sending the kids to college, or preparing your business for the future—the planning required can sometimes look too big and unwieldy to pursue. Planning for the future of your business might be one of the largest-scale financial events of your life, which implies that planning is …

One of the toughest things you’ll confront in your planning is focusing on the goals that matter most. You might find that the things you want to do conflict with the things you must do. For instance, you may want to use your analytical skills to increase production—something you can do at any time—during the only time that candidates for …

Planning for major events can sometimes cause a sense of dread. Whether it’s planning a honeymoon, a long family trip, or a business exit, it’s easy to say, “I’ll do it later, when I’m less busy.” While planning a business exit should never encompass your entire life, there are several reasons why you should keep your planning momentum going, instead …

Many business owners believe that they want to sell their businesses to a third party when they first start considering their business exits. Owners who want to start planning for a third-party sale sometimes fear that tight-fisted buyers will be the primary enemy in the way of a successful business exit. However, experience shows that it is business owners who …

Building a successful business and minimizing risk may seem like opposite strategies, but typically, they go hand in hand. Once a business matures past the early, sometimes chaotic stages of development, business owners often turn toward actions that can protect them from the unexpected. Common examples of risk mitigation include purchasing life insurance on owners’ lives and insuring any assets …

One of the most important goals of Exit Planning is to position business owners for post-exit financial security. To do that, business owners and their advisors must have several pieces of information: how much the business is currently worth, how much money the owner will need to live the post-exit lifestyle they choose, and which non-business assets the owner has. …