Your business may be the single most valuable asset you own. We believe that it's worth your time and effort to exit your business by design rather than by default.

If you are a small business owner, your business may be the most valuable asset you own. The value of your business and monetization of such value is enormously consequential to your ability to meet your retirement and estate planning goals. The net amount you receive from selling your business can directly impact what you can and can't afford in retirement and how much you can leave to your heirs.

Your Concerns

You are the founder and owner of a successful business. You've paid your dues and are enjoying the fruits of your labor.

You also feel that now is the right time to start planning for cashing out and moving on from your business. That it's time for you to start working on your business, not just in your business, and plan for your life beyond business ownership.

You may be wondering:

• How much is my business worth?
• How can I grow the value of my business so I can maximize its price in the eye of the beholder (potential buyer)?
• Do I know how much I need to net from selling my business? Will the net proceeds after tax support my ideal lifestyle after I exit?
• Is my business prepared to be sold? If someone shows up and offers to buy it, would I be able to sell it at the price I need?
• Who is the right buyer? Employees? Family members? A third party?
• Are my employees or children up to the challenge of business ownership? Or, should I sell to an outside buyer?
• How can I keep my key employees from leaving to join competitors?
• What would happen to the business and my family if I or my key employees die unexpectedly or are unable to work?

Perhaps you feel that it will be years before you even begin to consider leaving your business. But if someone shows up at your door today and offers to buy your business, is your business prepared to receive its full value (price)? Preparing a business for sale takes several years if you want to sell it when you want, for the money you need, and to the person you choose. So the best time to start preparing is when you don't need to sell it.

How We Help

Given the inseparable and intertwined relationship between your personal and business goals, we holistically integrate personal financial planning and business exit planning by taking a deep dive into your business to help prepare for sale in the context of your overall financial plan.

On a personal level, we address your financial planning needs such as:

• Articulating relationships and values that are most important to you
• Setting goals in alignment with the relationships and values that matter most to you
• Evaluating the amount you need to support your goals
• Making your money last during retirement
• Passing your assets to your heirs efficiently

Your business may be the most valuable (and most consequential) asset to meet your personal financial goals. Working with outside professionals and experts, we help prepare your business for sale at a price congruent with your goals.

• Set concrete and actionable goals for selling your business
• Evaluate the value of your business
• Develop and implement a strategic plan
• Build a strong management team (or groom a successor)
• Develop a sustainable growth strategy
• Implement business processes and systems
• Implement effective and documented financial controls
• Evaluate pros and cons of selling to an insider vs. an outsider
• Coordinate terms of sale based on your goals
• Help make provisions to safeguard your business from the unexpected
  

Articulating your goals in alignment with people and values that matter most to you helps you gain clarity and focus in the planning process. We help you do all that and plan for your future.

• Define people, relationships and values that are most important to you
• Set goals in alignment with people, relationships and values that are most important to you
• Evaluate the amount you need to meet your goals and support your desired lifestyle after you leave your business
• Make provisions to protect your family's lifestyle from death or disability
• Arrange your finances so you can minimize taxes where you can
• Manage your investment portfolios in alignment with your goals

Preserving and realizing the value of your business can impact your ability to meet your retirement and estate planning goals. We help you with various aspects of exiting your business.

• Evaluate what your business is worth
• Set specific goals and actionable plans
• Develop and implement a strategic plan
• Build a strong management team
• Develop a sustainable growth strategy
• Implement business processes and systems
• Implement effective and documented financial controls
• Set up a sensible compensation and benefits program for your key employees
• Make provisions to safeguard your business from the unexpected

Walking away from your business doesn't have to mean retirement, but simply a relaunch of your life in style. We help you manage your life and finances after you walk away from your business.

• Be able to support your plan to relaunch your life and stay relevant, like getting involved in "meaningful" endeavors or even starting another business
• Monitor your finances to help ensure that your money lasts through your lifetime to continue to support your goals and desired lifestyle
• Make sensible provisions for rising healthcare and long-term care costs
• Optimize your Social Security and Medicare benefits
• Maximize what you leave to your heirs in alignment with your deeply held values.