When advisors incorporate Exit Planning into their practice and move beyond transactional planning, they position themselves as the indispensable advisor that owners turn to for all their business planning needs. In turn, advisors reap benefits of differentiation, increased revenue, and many more. 

Business advisors can encounter a lot of competition, but nothing drives engagement quite like connection. Exit Planning provides a perfect opportunity to differentiate, strengthen client relationships, as well as capitalize on established relationships in new ways – ultimately providing you with a competitive advantage over your competition.

As a bicycle rider I appreciate the importance of avoiding headwinds on a long ride, especially as I near the finish line. A headwind means it will either take more effort or more time to arrive at my destination by the designated time. When I’m already tired neither option is very appealing. And so it is as you approach the end of your journey as the owner of your business: headwinds mean you will have to put in more effort or more time to exit your business in style. Like me, I expect you’ve had a long, interesting and challenging journey: starting your business, growing it, contracting it, growing it again until it has reached its current stage.  You’d like to successfully end your journey, but question whether or not that’s possible. If you are like most Baby-Boomer owners, your excitement about the journey just isn’t what it used to be:  the difficulties and trials never seem to end.  But now that you are within sight of your destination, you find yourself riding into stiff headwinds. You are not alone.  Every owner faces three significant headwinds that increase the difficulty of a successful business exit. One is our flat economy–today and for the foreseeable future.  The second is the substantially higher tax bill you’ll pay when you sell your business. And last, but not least, is the mediocre investment climate that depresses the amount of income you can expect from your sale proceeds and other investments. Compared to the pre-Great Recession period (1975-2007), these headwinds can double (if not triple) the time and effort you’ll need to create and preserve financial security upon your business exit. I doubt that this list of headwinds surprises you, but most of us fail to appreciate (much less react to) the effect they have on our ability to enjoy a financially successful life after we sell our businesses.  Ignoring these headwinds has serious consequences: it makes for an exhausting last leg of the ride.

To grow a business in today’s economy to a value sufficient to provide financial security for you when sold is an uphill ride into a strong headwind.

Two principal ways tax increases negatively affect business owners, and what you can do to overcome them.

Conservatively estimate the likely investment return you anticipate from the sale proceeds.

Typically a business needs years of preparation to enable its owner to exit successfully.

Every business exit time frame is contingent on both the owner’s goals and the business’ readiness for transfer.

In order to sell a business, it must be attractive to potential buyers.