employees Archives - Your ExitMap

The Role of a Coach in Exit Planning

John F. Dini — Tue, 23 May 2023 15:55:34 +0000

Defining the role of a coach on your exit planning team doesn’t just happen. Like any other aspect of working with consultants, you need to set expectations upfront. Many advisors like to characterize themselves as the “quarterback” of a transition planning team. I’ve always objected to that. We regard the business owner as the quarterback of the planning process. After all, the coach never gets sacked by a 300-pound defensive lineman. The advisor may want to win every bit as much as the business owner, but it’s the owner who actually has skin in the game. A Coach’s Responsibilities It’s one thing to say that ... Read more

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Prepared for 2023 – Is This the Year to Exit?

John F. Dini — Wed, 04 Jan 2023 23:19:04 +0000

What does being prepared for 2023 mean for business owners who are approaching, at, or already beyond normal retirement age? It’s become fashionable to pontificate about the “inevitable” recession in the coming year. There is an argument for not talking ourselves into making it happen. Unfortunately, there are indisputable reasons why it is going to occur regardless of whether we discuss it or not. Inflationary stimulus (including $6 trillion of ”quantitative easing”) in the US, combined with over-dependency on Russian gas supply in Europe and falling industrial production from COVID lockdowns in China have created the proverbial slow-motion car wreck for the world economy. All ... Read more

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Do You Suffer From Decision Addiction?

John F. Dini — Mon, 21 Mar 2022 14:24:47 +0000

Do you suffer from decision addiction? The typical business owner lives on dopamine. According to WebMD: Dopamine is a type of neurotransmitter. Your body makes it, and your nervous system uses it to send messages between nerve cells. That’s why it’s sometimes called a chemical messenger. Dopamine plays a role in how we feel pleasure. It’s a big part of our uniquely human ability to think and plan. Feeling the Rush That’s what business owners do; think and plan. Their lives are a chain of thought processes that go “What if I do this? How will it affect the business? Then what would I do ... Read more

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A Hazy Crystal Ball is Better than a Rearview Mirror

Corby Megorden — Fri, 04 Mar 2022 22:58:54 +0000

Several years ago, I did a cross-country trip with my family. We laid out a rough plan of what we wanted to see, how long it’d take, and most importantly, what we wanted to eat! When we hit the road, I did not drive looking primarily in the rearview mirror, with an occasional glance at the gas gauge and the road signs. I looked ahead and tweaked the plan. Yet, that is often how business owners run their businesses. Often, this year’s business planning consists of, “let’s do what we did last year – just more of it.” We look at whether we have cash ... Read more

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Non-Qualified Plans

John F. Dini — Fri, 24 Sep 2021 15:04:17 +0000

When I talk to business owners about “non-qualified plans,” their first reaction is often “Hold on there. I don’t want to get in trouble!” The term “Non-qualified” merely refers to the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, more commonly known as ERISA. As the title indicates, it is the basic set of regulations for retirement plans. If your company offers a 401K or SEP IRA, it has a Qualified Plan. If you have an Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP), that is also an ERISA plan. Under the terms of ERISA, a plan must be made available to all employees. In return, the company can ... Read more

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Are Remote Employees Value Killers?

John F. Dini — Tue, 22 Jun 2021 20:40:04 +0000

Remote employees can have a dramatic impact on the value of your business. If your exit strategy is to sell to a third party, take some time to think about the areas where offsite workers could have an impact. Curb Appeal One of the first things any good business broker will look at is your curb appeal. Your business needs to look good, just like a house that’s for sale. (OK, maybe right now a house doesn’t even need to look good, but you know what I mean.) When I brokered Main Street businesses, I was always surprised at how much we had to tell ... Read more

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Internal Leaders Affect the Value of Your Business

John F. Dini — Fri, 12 Mar 2021 16:34:26 +0000

Internal leaders may not be obvious. They may not even have a “leadership” title. Make no mistake, however; internal leaders are critical to value and attractiveness when it comes to selling your business. In Super Bowl 55 we saw the impact of an internal leader. Tom Brady has the highest winning percentage of any single athlete in major professional sports. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have (or at least did up until this season,) the worst win/loss record over their entire existence of any major professional sports team. Yet one man changed the culture of the organization almost overnight. Remember, for all the accolades being heaped ... Read more

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When Kids Don’t Cut It

John F. Dini — Wed, 23 Sep 2020 05:28:26 +0000

Many owners want to see their children inherit the business, but what happens when the kids don’t cut it? Some years ago I worked with a business owner whose exit plan was to sell into one of the private equity roll-ups that were active in his industry. His son was finishing college, where he studied for a career in wildlife management. The son’s ambition was to spend his life in the great outdoors. One day my client was beaming when I walked into his office. “Guess what?” he said. “My son called. He wants to take over my business!” After a few minutes, it was ... Read more

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Your Exit Plan: The 3 Inarguable Reasons to Start NOW

John F. Dini — Sun, 14 Jun 2020 01:00:38 +0000

What is Your Exit Plan? If you’ve ever done a business plan for the purpose of raising capital, one of the key questions is “What is your exit plan?” Many business owners think that question is self-serving, intended merely to let the venture capitalists figure when and how they will get their return on investment. In truth, however, that question is far more important. An exit plan is a strategic plan with an end date. Putting a time frame on your plan, and defining the goals to be achieved by that date, creates a future-focused mindset for the owner. It controls and reduces your tendency ... Read more

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Selling to Employees: Exit Planning for Small Business Part 4

John F. Dini — Tue, 15 Oct 2019 06:08:53 +0000

Selling to employees is one method of transition that is growing rapidly in popularity. Usually the driving motivation is a desire to help the people who got you this far enjoy some of the benefits of ownership, but there is a substantial list of other benefits. Pricing is agreed at the start, not in adversarial negotiations. Valuation is flexible. The business can be sold for more or less than its Fair Market Value, as long as both sides agree and cash flow supports it. The legacy of the business lives on in the community. Where there are substantial challenges to an outside buyer, such as ... Read more

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Manage Activities; Lead for Results

John F. Dini — Thu, 25 Jul 2019 09:23:17 +0000

A few weeks ago I posted a comment in the Business Journals Leadership Trust Forum about a life lesson I learned. The difference between effort and outcomes – Manage Activities; Lead for Results. They reached out and asked if I could expand my comments a bit. Those of you who know me won’t find it surprising that it grew into an article. You can find it here. I hope you enjoy it. Remember, lead for results. Invest 15 Minutes and take our FREE Exit Readiness Assessment. We do not request any confidential information. John F. Dini develops transition and succession strategies that allow business ... Read more

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Is Google Making Us Stoopid?

John F. Dini — Sun, 02 Jun 2019 09:43:25 +0000

As an Exit Planner, most of my engagements involve assessing a management team. They may be the intended buyers of the company, or else they are key factors in the saleability of the business. The biggest and most frequent complaint I hear about managers is that they don’t know how to THINK. Business owners lament the inability of employees to discern critical paths, assess alternatives, or analyze complex problems. Examples of Thinking Shortfalls A CPA is doing a final review of a client’s tax returns, as prepared by an associate. As with many business owners, the client has two related entities, one acting as the ... Read more

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