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 Coaching Skill in Exit Planning The single most important talent in your exit planning team is coaching skill. I’ve written often in this space about the need for multiple talents, from taxation to legal, financial planning, and risk management. None, however, is more important than coaching. Let me put it this way. Your planning team can be led from any position, as long as the person leading has coaching skill. If he or she doesn’t, all the clever tax advice or ironclad documentation in the world won’t lead to your successful transition. But if the person leading the team is an experienced coach, you’ll probably be okay. What is Coaching ... Read more Wealth Management for Business Owners Wealth Management Considerations for Business Owners Small business owners are at times neglected by the wealth management community as the business is commonly (not always) the owner’s largest asset rather than a portfolio of stocks, bonds, and mutual funds. You’d be well-advised as a business owner to engage a Financial Advisor who is proactive and experienced in factoring your future plans for the business, into your overall plan for managing your wealth.   Key Elements of Exit Planning Impactful wealth management for you as a business owner would include at least these elements of exit planning: Clarifying what “exit” means to you. For example, do ... Read more Business Succession Planning Is There Life After Death? Consider this scenario: You’re part owner of a thriving small- to medium-sized business. You handle certain key responsibilities and rely on your partner to handle others. While your partner is away on business, the phone rings. The shaky voice at the other end of the line informs you that your partner has been fatally injured in a car accident. You’re grief-stricken. At the same time, you realize many people—you, your family, your partner’s family, your employees, customers, and creditors—depend on the uninterrupted continuation of your business. You know you should have planned for this. . .but you just never found the time. What If I ... Read more Are You Prepared for the Next Stage of Your Business? You’re a successful business owner who’s devoted all your time and effort to growing your company to be a best-in-class provider in the industry. With your head down so long, you’ve probably never thought about what you were going to do as you approached the next stage of life. Planning for that next stage before you actually get there can help solve many of the problems today’s business owners often face following an exit transaction. It may sound great to play golf every day, or to sit at the lake and fish, but does that replace the daily rush you had while operating your business? ... Read more The Dismal Ds and Exit Planning The “Dismal Ds” is an inside joke in exit planning. Every industry and profession has them. In some, it’s “You can have it done well, done fast, or done cheaply. Pick any two.” In planning it’s “Sooner or later, every owner exits his or her business… 100% guaranteed.” Clearly, that refers to the unplanned but inevitable departure from the biggest D – Death. That isn’t the only D, however. There are others, NONE of which lead to a controlled, lucrative, or enjoyable transition. Most start with dis- defined as “dis– 1. a Latin prefix meaning “apart,” “asunder,” “away,” “utterly,” or having a privative, negative, or reversing force.” ... Read more Succession Planning Starts with "What’s Next" Asking the Right Question What makes a business successful? In many small businesses, the owner is the principal driver, particularly from a technical and sales aspect. They are the ones running around, coordinating sales, staying late to ensure that products get made. They are the ones working the relationships with clients to ensure that the orders continue to come in. With all that these individuals is doing, exit planners ask, “have they ever thought about what they want to do next?” Unfortunately, there is a good chance that one of the 5 D’s (Death, Divorce, Disability, Distress, and Disagreement) could affect their businesses. Let us ... Read more Preserving Family Wealth is a Generational Effort Wealth within a family can be a double-edged sword. It can serve as an incredible resource to benefit its family members, but it can also be destructive and divisive. Destructive in the sense that if not properly tended to and respected, wealth can destroy the purpose and outcomes of individual family members, and divisive in the sense that it can damage the bond between family members and cause a splintering of the family. Wealth and the handling of wealth is a topic that has been discussed or written about throughout the ages, as it is mentioned in both the Old Testament and the Gospels within ... Read more When Kids Don't Cut It 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 An Often Neglected Means Of Protecting Business Value Protect The Business Most Valuable Asset A compelling and common characteristic of successful business owners is optimism. The “glass is always half full” attitude results in the risk-taking, perseverance, and innovation it takes to build, grow, and protect a successful business. Like any personal strength, this optimism can quickly become a weakness when there is a need to plan for the gloomy business contingencies of death and disability. What happens to the business due to either of these less than optimistic events is the last thing an optimistic owner wants to think about. Some might say that perhaps owners don’t care if the business fails ... Read more Succession Planning or Exit Planning? Small Business Owners Need Both! One of the questions we often hear from business owners is, “What is the difference between Succession Planning and Exit Planning?  Aren’t they the same thing?”  Surprisingly, they are not.  The next question usually is, “Which one do I need?” The answer is simple.  Whether the business is small or large, family-owned or not, astute business owners always need both. Nearly $10 trillion dollars in business assets will be transferred globally in the next decade, according to Forbes Magazine.  Baby Boomers selling privately owned businesses or transferring them to family members will comprise much of that $10 trillion dollar transfer.  As the market becomes crowded ... Read more « Newer EntriesOlder Entries »