From a successfully planned exit to a significant one.
A good price is only part of the story. The years before anyone makes an offer can shape what the sale can do for you and your family.
Selling well and leaving well aren't the same thing
Plenty of owners sell good businesses for a fair price. A year later, some of them wish they'd done it differently. Not because of the price. Because the money, the timing or the life after didn't fit what they wanted.
A successful exit is a good deal. The papers get signed and the wire hits. A significant exit goes further. What you keep, after taxes, funds the life you want. The people who helped build the business land on their feet. And you know what you're moving toward.
The difference is planning, and much of it happens years before the deal.
01 What does life look like after?
The business is more than a paycheck. It's your calendar, your team and part of who you are. Owners who haven't pictured the years after the sale sometimes get cold feet at the closing table. We start here.
02 How much do you actually need?
This is your number. Start with what the life you want will cost, then subtract what you already have outside the business. The rest is what the sale has to deliver, after taxes and deal costs.
03 What is the business worth, and to whom?
Value comes down to earnings times a multiple. The multiple reflects risk, and the more the business leans on you, the riskier it looks to a buyer.
What a Buyer Is Really Paying For
A buyer isn't paying for your past. They're paying for earnings they believe will keep coming after you leave. Four things make that easier to believe.
Your people
A leadership team that runs the day to day without you, with enough depth to keep going if someone leaves.
Your customers
Relationships that belong to the company, not just to you. Recurring revenue and a customer base that doesn't hinge on a few names.
Your systems
Documented processes, clean financials and know-how that's written down instead of living in one person's head.
Your culture
A way of working that people want to be part of, and that a new owner can inherit.
These also make a business easier to run today. That's why they're worth building even if you never sell.
Your Tax Number Isn't Your Real Number
Many owners spend years keeping taxable income low. That same habit can make a profitable company look less profitable to a buyer.
Before a sale, the books get recast to show real earnings: owner pay set to market rates, one-time costs removed and owner perks added back. Buyers test every adjustment, and a long list of add-backs can make them more skeptical, not less. Clean books, years ahead, may help give you a truer picture of what you own and an easier conversation when it counts.
Start Early. Plan in Stages.
There's no perfect time to exit. Your energy, your business and the market seldom line up at once, so being ready matters more than timing it.
5 to 10 years out: Get clear
- Picture life after the business, and talk it through at home.
- Know your number: what a sale needs to deliver, after taxes.
- Get a baseline value estimate so you know where you stand.
- Put a contingency plan in place for the five D's.
2 to 5 years out: Build value that transfers
- Develop leaders so the business runs without you.
- Move key customer relationships from you to your team.
- Clean up the books so your real earnings are easy to see.
- Start the tax and estate planning that needs years to work.
- Get your CPA, attorney and advisor working from one plan.
The final 1 to 2 years: Choose your path
- Compare exit options and deal structures against your goals.
- Bring in transaction help, like an M&A advisor or investment banker.
- Get ready for due diligence before a buyer asks.
- Plan where the proceeds go and how they'll replace your paycheck.
Not Every Exit Is on Your Schedule
Planners call them the five D's: death, disability, divorce, disagreement and distress. Any one of them can force a transition on someone else's timeline. A few questions worth answering now:
Death. Does your family know what happens to your shares, and who to call first?
Disability. If you couldn't work for six months, who would run the business and sign the checks?
Divorce. How would your ownership be valued and divided?
Disagreement. If you and a partner part ways, how is the buyout priced and paid?
Distress. If you lost a key customer, supplier or employee, how long could the business hold up?
A buy-sell agreement, the right insurance and written instructions give your family and your team a plan to follow instead of a scramble. Your attorney drafts the documents. We can help make sure they fit the rest of your plan.
More Than One Way Out
Many owners picture two paths: hand it to family or sell to an outside buyer. There are more. Inside the company, you can transfer to family, your management team, your partners or your employees through an ESOP. Outside it, there's a strategic buyer, private equity, a partial sale or an orderly wind-down. Many owners combine paths or exit in stages.
How We Help
We plan the personal and financial side of an exit and coordinate with the people who handle the rest. That means your life after the sale, your number, what the proceeds need to do and how the timing fits your taxes, your estate and your family.
Your CPA handles the tax work. Your attorney drafts the agreements. A valuation professional and an M&A advisor or investment banker handle the deal itself. We keep everyone planning from the same picture, so you don't have to carry messages between them.
We like to say the plan leads the portfolio. It should lead the deal, too.
Our team includes a Certified Exit Planning Advisor (CEPA).
How early should I start planning an exit?
Earlier than you'd think. The choices that shape an exit, like taxes, structure, who takes over and what you need from the proceeds, take years to line up. Five years out is a good time to start the conversation. Ten is even better.
Do I need to be planning to sell to talk to you?
No. Exit planning is good business planning, whether you sell in three years, hand the business to your kids in fifteen or keep it for good. A business that can run without you gives you more choices either way.
How is exit planning different from selling a business?
Selling is one event. Exit planning is everything around it: deciding what you want, building value a buyer will pay for, preparing your family and planning for the proceeds. An M&A advisor or business broker runs the sale itself.
Do you value businesses or broker sales?
No. We plan the personal and financial side and work alongside the valuation professionals, M&A advisors and attorneys who handle the deal.
Do you work with my CPA and attorney?
Yes. If you have a team you trust, we work alongside them. If you're still building one, we can help with that too.
How are you paid?
All fees and commissions will be fully disclosed before the work begins.
Let us help you set the board.
Five years out or fifteen, it's never too soon to talk through what you want the exit to do for you.
Or call us at 651-982-1115.
The opinions voiced in this material are for general information only and are not intended to provide specific advice or recommendations for any individual. All investing involves risk including loss of principal. No strategy assures success or protects against loss. Economic forecasts set forth may not develop as predicted.
This information is not intended to be a substitute for specific individualized tax or legal advice. We suggest that you discuss your specific tax and legal issues with a qualified tax advisor or attorney.
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