Category: White papers

 What could be easier than transferring your family business to its natural successor: your heirs apparent, your offspring? If some of your first guesses were peace in the Middle East, increasing honestly in politics, or convincing a teenager that he or she might be wrong about something, you have probably witnesses your share of family-business

​Owners begin thinking about the Exit Planning Process when two streams of thought begin to converge. The first stream is a feeling that they want to do something besides go to work everyday: either they would like to be someplace else – doing something else – or they simply no longer get the same kick

This white paper describes 10 deal pitfalls (in no particular order) that each have the capability to derail a deal, some more effectively than others. All of these pitfalls are fairly common, although some owners are prone to fall into more pits than others. As you examine this list, you will notice that all of

This white paper is dedicated to the owner seeking to exit his or her business in style. Acquiring other businesses is a tool that business owners use when growing their own businesses. The operative word is growing since the purpose of growing your business through acquisition is to increase the value of your existing business.

Bicycle riders appreciate the importance of avoiding headwinds on a long ride, especially as they approach the end. A headwind causes a rider to either expend more effort or take more time to arrive at a destination. When a rider is already tired, neither option is appealing. A bike race and owning a business are

When business owners start to think about exiting their companies, the number of possible Exit Paths can seem limitless. In reality, there are only eight: 1. Transfer the company to family member(s).2. Sell the business to one or more key employees.3. Sell to employees using an employee stock ownership plan (ESOP).4. Sell to one or

Few business owners relish spending money on something unnecessary. For most owners, hiring an expert to estimate the value of their companies falls into the unnecessary category. Thus, it is no surprise that owners typically respond to an Exit Planning Advisor’s recommendation to get an estimate of value for the company with some variation of, “Now?

Successful owners are usually optimistic people, somewhat averse to dwelling on the more unpleasant aspects of Business. Contemplating one’s demise certainly qualifies as an unpleasant aspect. Consequently, advisors tend to use a lot of softer phrasings when they talk about business continuity. They ask, “What happens if the owner ‘passes on’ or ‘leaves the scene?”‘

As business owners plan to exit their businesses, they must confront the challenge of incentivizing employees – specifically, management – to stay with the company after they have left. Having a strong established, and committed management team to take the reins once an owner has exited is becoming more of a prerequisite that a luxury

One of a business owner’s greatest challenges is to attract, motivate, and keep key employees. As owners approach the end of the marathon of exiting their business, often tired and distracted by everything they’ve done, they begin to assume that it is no longer worthwhile to keep and motivate key employees. However, keeping key employees