Exiting right and retiring well requires thoughtful planning and unique expertise that business owners rarely have. Exit planning (a.k.a. succession planning) is about controlling how and when you exit your business, while maximizing value, minimizing risk, and preserving wealth.
Relative to your stock portfolio and real estate investments, you have greater control over the value of your business. At the same time a business is a riskier, more complex and less liquid investment. Whether you want to transfer to family, management or a third party, a proactive exit plan is essential.
The benefits of a formal exit plan include being personally prepared, attracting more and better buyers, realizing a higher price, paying less in taxes, and having a higher probability of a trouble-free ownership and management transfer. On a personal level, it clears and settles your mind, reduces your stress and anxiety, and allows you to focus your finite time and energy on what's most important.
Through Business Exit Planning you can …
- Increase enterprise value
- Increase marketability
- Attract more and better buyers
- Achieve work/life balance
- Ensure business continuity
- Have a seamless ownership transfer
- Minimize risks
- Minimize taxes
- Avoid costly mistakes
Let's face it; most successful business owners don’t have the time, training or inclination to tackle this on their own. This is where Exit Strategies comes in ... Phase 1: Assess
An objective, baseline value and market analysis of your business, covering:
- A survey of company history, operations, markets, customers, suppliers, staff, important documents, tangible and intangible assets, etc.
- Grading the business on 25+ common value drivers/detractors
- Financial review and analysis
- Industry comparison
- Application of commonly used business valuation methods
- Consideration of appropriate premiums and discounts
- Value conclusion (single number or range)
- Tests for reasonableness
- Likely buyers
- Likely deal structures
- Likely financing sources
- Marketability and potential obstacles
- Insights into increasing value and marketability
Phase 2: Plan
If value, marketability or transferrability gaps exist, we can help you formulate strategies to close these gaps within your desired exit timeframe. We work together to develop a custom business plan with measurable objectives and specific action steps. When a third party sale is your primary exit option, this plan prepares you and the business for the selling process.
An exit (succession) plan ties in your personal financial goals. Our advisors have the real world experience to help identify the range of exit planning issues and coordinate with legal, tax and financial planning professionals.
Phase 3: Implement
At your option we can coach, review progress and update your plan on a quarterly or semi-annual basis. Some clients engage our services to implement specific plan initiatives. We can update the value/market assessment annually, or as business and market conditions change. You choose the level of coaching or involvement you need.
Reasonable Cost
One of our goals in this process is to get involved early on when we can have the most impact, and become a valued and trusted advisor to you. Therefore we price our Exit Planning services very cost effectively, and when the time is right and you engage us to market and sell the company, we credit a significant portion of your planning investment against our brokerage fees. Your investment will be well rewarded.
To achieve your exit goals in the next 1 to 5 years, call Exit Strategies today.
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