Your ExitMap Blog gathers contributions from top exit planning professionals across the country that are indexed into four categories. They include select strategies for planning your exit, ideas for building your company’s value, transfer options you can choose from, or preparing to enjoy your post-exit lifestyle. This page shows the most recent posts from Your ExitMap Blog. If you are seeking a qualified exit planning professional, you can view a map of specialists here.
All articles are copyrighted by the authors, and reprinted here with permission. Each author’s contact information is available via a link at the end of the article.
Most Recent Your ExitMap Blog Articles
Most Recent Blog Articles
About YourExitMap.com About YourExitMap.com for Business Owners YourExitMap.com contains a growing library of interactive tools, educational materials and practical exit planning resources for business owners. The content is designed to be engaging and entertaining, and deliver valuable information about the most influential factor in a successful transition strategy. Is your business prepared to generate the value needed to fund your retirement goals? Use the companion resource, Your Exit Map: Navigating the Boomer Bust by John F. Dini, to guide you through the generation of real-time results using the ExitMap tools and your actual numbers. Contact Information Physical and Mailing Address: MPN Inc. | 15600 San Pedro ... Read more Internal Transfers: Legacy vs. Lucre Lifestyle vs. Legacy Why would I refer to the results of an internal transfer as “lifestyle vs. lucre?” Lucre is a pejorative term. While it is technically just a synonym for money, most dictionaries draw the parallel to its use in “filthy lucre;” money that is ill-gotten or otherwise dishonorably obtained. I was honored to present at the Exit Planning Summit this past weekend. One of the things I discussed was the need to help business owners determine whether their personal vision for their company’s future was based on lifestyle or legacy. That’s how I normally term it, and there is no negative connotation attached to either ... Read more The Right Price for Your Business “If someone offered me the right price, I’d sell in a minute!” Exit planners and business brokers hear it all the time. “Anything is for sale if the price is right!” What is the “right” price? Of course, you can fantasize about a windfall from a buyer who has far more money than brains. Some of the fast-talking “business brokers” (the ones who get more revenue from preparing offering books than actually selling companies), will pitch their secret list of buyers in Europe and Asia who routinely overpay for businesses. In case you didn’t know, the largest advisory firms in Europe and Asia are the same ones ... Read more After the Exit: Second Acts As part of my effort to add variety to the types of exit planning posts here, I will occasionally include “Second Act”, stories about business owners who have already left one career, and are now doing something else. The Second Act The 19th century Pearl Brewery exemplified both the potential and the problems of close-in urban industrial sites. Long abandoned, but just a mile or so along the river from the famed San Antonio Riverwalk, it was in the words of one real estate agent (quoted from the San Antonio Express-News): “…an overgrown creek full of homeless encampments. There was terrible crime in the area, ... Read more Why GenXers Won't Buy Your BusinessThere are six reasons why GenXers won’t buy your business. Last week I presented a webinar for the Exit Planning Institute entitled “The Perfect Storm.” It looks at six factors impacting the desire and the ability of Generation X buyers to acquire a Baby Boomer business. The first three, demographic, psychographic and sociographic, are macro trends that make Xer’s unlikely to buy any business that requires capital or more than full-time commitment. . The last three factors, Regulation, Disintermediation and Entitlements, describe why all businesses are harder to sell today than they were even ten years ago. The presentation is a bit long (38 minutes), ... Read more The Nimble Small Business Almost since time began, the nimble small business has been axiomatic. Large corporations are like big ships, the common knowledge goes. They take a long time to change direction. That is a comforting thought to business owners who choose to see their one-person strategic planning team as a competitive advantage. Like the small furry mammals that survived as the dinosaurs died out, they are adaptable. The nimble small business can react to changes in the market faster, with less bureaucracy, and with greater attention to the customer’s needs. There is one problem. That “common knowledge” is no longer true. In fact, a new definition of nimble is ... Read more Quality of Earnings Part 3: Cash Flow In the past few weeks we’ve discussed how quality of earnings audits look at your income and expenses, and their impact on company value. Since Revenue less Expenses equals Profit (P=R-E), you could be forgiven for thinking that we have picked apart your earnings as much as possible. Unfortunately, that’s not the case. Merely dissecting your customers, lines of business, contracts, one-time expenses and unrecognized liabilities isn’t enough. Quality of earnings also examines how your cash flows. Accounts Receivable Just selling at a decent margin isn’t enough. That margin suffers from invisible erosion if your customers don’t pay on time. I’ve heard plenty of owners say ” ... Read more Quality of Earnings Part 2: Hidden Expenses In my last post we discussed quality of earnings audits from a revenue perspective. Customer concentration, marginal lines of business and contracts are the three most common revenue traps. If you are comfortable with your company’s strength and stability as regards to revenue, it’s time to look at your expenses. There are two expense categories that trip up owners in due diligence, one-time (out of the ordinary) expenses, and unrecognized liabilities. One Time Expenses A few years ago I worked with a client who owned a wholesale distribution business. He presented his financial statements to me to determine the practicality of obtaining third-party financing for an ... Read more Quality of Earnings Part 1: Revenue Traps This will be the first of several columns on quality of earnings. While a formal, third-party Quality of Earnings Study is more often seen in mid-market transactions, even small business owners should be aware of the factors that can cause discounts to a selling price long after they thought it was settled. There are few things as exciting as receiving a Letter of Intent to purchase your company. It may specify a dollar amount, or (as often happens with Private Equity Groups or PEGS) it may set a target range for a price based on multiples of profit. The exact profit, or earnings, that will ... Read more After the Exit; "Nothing Will Change" “Nothing will change.” It is almost de rigueur for an acquirer to include that in his or her opening comments to the incumbent staff of a just-purchased business. Sometimes it is the seller’s attempt at making folks feel better. “Don’t worry. They promised me that nothing will change.” In the moment, it seems like a calming thing to say, a confidence builder for the employees who have just been informed that they have a new boss. In the long run, it can cause more problems than it solves. Everything Changes In any company, change is ongoing. Employees are asked to learn additional skills. Systems are upgraded. Procedures ... Read more |
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