“Exit Planning? I’ll start soon—I’ve got plenty of time.”
“Exit Planning? I’m too busy. I just don’t have enough time.”
The problem with both of these statements is that active business owners seldom slow down. We all know that the only things likely to reduce your pace are death or terminal burn-out. This is not to imply [...]

Stan Briggs was perplexed and that’s why he told his advisor, “My son, Patrick, has worked in the business for the last twelve years. In that time, the business has tripled its revenues and its profits. I’ve started to think about scaling back my activity and I realize how important it is (for my own [...]

Business owners may be telling their advisors things like, “I’d like to back away from my business”, “I’d like the freedom to do whatever I want, whenever I want”, “I don’t want to worry about money. But if I sell, I’m unlikely to get enough cash in today’s merger and acquisition marketplace.”, “If I could [...]

The recession has brought a lot of challenges, but it has also brought the luxury of time: time to figure out exactly what you need from the sale or transfer of your company to support a comfortable post-sale lifetime and time to create enough value in your company to achieve your desired sale price.
Most owners [...]

We have all heard the old proverb that it’s dangerous to put all of your eggs in one basket.” But does the proverb apply in the world of business ownership? Specifically, is it a valid warning or just a worn-out cliché? It seems to make good sense to concentrate all of your business effort and [...]

“My investment advisor suggested that I sell my company to an ESOP. Is that a good idea?”
My estate planning attorney recommended that I begin giving my business to my children. What do you think?”
“I’m getting tired of running my business every day. My accountant thinks a sale to a third party is a good [...]