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

The Role of a Coach in Exit Planning 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 Focus On Net Proceeds And Not Just Sale Price When Selling Your Business John was excited as “today is the day!” Twenty-five years ago this month he had started his home remodeling business with a truck and a tool belt, and today at 3pm he was going to the deal table to sell his business to a much larger remodeling company. It would be a strategic purchase for the buyer who was willing to pay a premium with a goal of expansion in the region. With the check received today, John knew he could now do everything he and Kim had thought about doing for years — travel, more time with the family and for hobby’s and other ... Read more Impressions of Value in Exit Planning Business owners, advisors, and buyers frequently have widely different impressions of value when it comes to a business. The Pepperdine Private Capital Markets Survey canvasses intermediaries who sell privately held Main Street and mid-market companies. One question is about the obstacles that prevented the sale of a business. The number one response is “Owners’ unreasonable expectations of value.” That may be self-serving or an excuse. Nonetheless, valuation is a sensitive subject. Many owners have worked in the business for 30 or 40 years. They assume it will fund their next 20 years of retirement. Their target price is set only by their desired lifestyle after ... Read more "Work From Anywhere" Comes Full Circle Work from anywhere has been a necessity, an epithet, an obstacle, and an opportunity over the last 3 years. To paraphrase Aristotle’s axiom about Nature (“Horror Vacui”), business abhors a vacuum. Where one occurs, it is quickly filled. Work from anywhere started as a COVID-induced necessity. During the lockdowns of 2020-2021 (and longer in some places) we all had a crash course in video calling, VPNs, and virtual meetings. Employees quickly expanded the definition of anywhere. They tired of shunting the children off to a bedroom during conference calls, or using office-like backdrops to hide their kitchen cabinets. Soon they began changing their backgrounds to ... Read more Family Succession Planning: Who Gets the Office?   Sometimes the most sensitive question in family succession planning is “Who gets the office?” Dad’s (or Mom’s) office is usually perceived as the center of authority by the employees and other family members. That is where you got called on the carpet, where you were informed of promotions, or where you took an insolvable problem. When a parent/CEO is handing off operating responsibility, there is often a lag, sometimes measured in years, between stepping back from the daily decisions and completely separating from the premises. There is great value in having that experience available for coaching, mentoring, or just to lend perspective on new ... Read more Prepared for 2023 – Is This the Year to Exit? 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 Owner Obstacles to an Exit Plan Owner obstacles to the implementation of an exit plan are often unconscious, but they can be dramatic.  Their attachment to the business can be difficult to break. An advisor spends a lot of time and energy developing the vision for life after ownership in the hopes that it is far more attractive to them than their current role in the business. Yet no matter how well developed that vision is, or how well defined the action steps are, it isn’t unusual to find owners who behave in a way that ultimately sabotages the plan. Sometimes their actions are even intentional, but more often they aren’t. ... Read more How to Separate Yourself From Your Business - Why It's So Important When you run your own business, oftentimes one of the most confusing aspects of the job, especially if you are new to the experience, is understanding how to separate yourself from your business. And this issue can show up in so many ways, from achieving a work/life balance and managing your time to how you get paid and even how much taxes you owe. With this in mind, here we will offer a big-picture overview of this issue, and in future articles, we’ll drill down to some of the finer details of keeping your business and personal assets separate. Although it might not seem overly ... Read more Entreprenuers Don’t Use Rearview Mirrors All business owners are goal oriented. From the day you founded or assumed control of your company, you set targets and achieved them. That is why you are successful. You know how to define a goal and make it happen. If I asked you to tell me the best thing that you did in the business three years ago, you’d likely respond with, “I have no idea.” or “Why would I know that?” or “Who cares?” You are busy looking forward. I’ve even had some owners get angry. They feel some obligation to know the answer, and that they are somehow failing a test if ... Read more Avoiding the "Exit" Word Owners don’t like the “Exit” word. They tell us regularly to change it, or that talking about it is uncomfortable. It’s the elephant in the room. I understand. Anyone selling life insurance or funeral pre-planning knows that you don’t start with “So, let’s discuss what happens when you DIE.” For business owners, leaving the business is like a little bit of death. That’s why black humor in the exit planning world goes like this. “There are seven ways to exit your business. Six of those are head first.” Your company has been the central focus of your life for twenty or thirty years, and perhaps ... Read more « Newer EntriesOlder Entries »