Building business value is a core reason you wake up and run your business every day. As your business grows in value, it can position you to find new clients; keep current clients happy; support your employees financially and intellectually; and … [Read more...]
Why make your business more valuable without you?
Businesses that rely on their owners as the primary source of success are common. They’re also the most dangerous kind of business to own when you want to plan for the future of your ownership interest. Unless your goal for the future of your … [Read more...]
Is your business worth as much as you think?
As a successful business owner, you know that your business has value. It likely supports the lifestyle you and your family live. It provides a paycheck and perhaps benefits to the people you employ. The products or services you provide are … [Read more...]
Working backward: Three questions to ask about your planning
Do you remember trying to solve a complex maze as a child? You’d start at the beginning, trace a line toward what you thought was the correct path to the end, only to run headlong into a wall. So, you’d start again, only to run into a different wall. … [Read more...]
Incentivizing your best employees to stay
When thinking about business planning, one aspect you may be tempted to overlook is the contributions of your key employees. Key employees are the lifeblood of well-run businesses, and they play an important role when owners begin to plan for their … [Read more...]
3 things to remember about third-party sales
As a business owner, you’re likely used to having as much control over how the business functions as possible. You’re the go-to person for big decisions and you own the consequences of those decisions, whether they’re good or bad. This attitude is … [Read more...]
Why Maintaining Planning Momentum Is Important
Planning for major events can sometimes cause a sense of dread. Whether it’s planning a honeymoon, a long family trip, or a business exit, it’s easy to say, “I’ll do it later, when I’m less busy.” While planning a business exit should never encompass … [Read more...]
Are You Being Your Own Worst Enemy?
Many business owners believe that they want to sell their businesses to a third party when they first start considering their business exits. Owners who want to start planning for a third-party sale sometimes fear that tight-fisted buyers will be the … [Read more...]
What Business Owners Assume About Financial Planning Hurts Them
One of the most important goals of Exit Planning is to position business owners for post-exit financial security. To do that, business owners and their advisors must have several pieces of information: how much the business is currently worth, how … [Read more...]
Death Can Ruin Your Plans
Imagine building your business over several decades, beginning to plan your business exit, then dying unexpectedly before you can implement your plans. Business owners rarely think about how an unexpected death or permanent incapacitation can derail … [Read more...]