Business Exit Planning Q&A

Wealth Management is a customer service field.

100% of business owners will eventually leave their business. Will you be ready when the time comes? We can help you identify your transition goals, shape plans for a successful future, save money in taxes, and set an exit date. We have listed out some of the popular questions that we get asked regularly. Let us know your questions, we would love to chat!

Question: “What is Exit Planning?”
Answer: Exit Planning is a holistic approach to designing a strategy that will allow you to receive maximum value for your life’s work after exiting your business. It encompasses setting Exit Objectives (e.g., when do you want to leave, to whom will you sell the business), pulling together a team of Trusted Advisors (e.g., CPA, attorney, financial advisor), and writing down each aspect of the transition sequence.

Question: “Who needs an Exit Plan?”
Answer: Any business owner who wants an orderly, financially sound, and tax-efficient exit from his or her business needs an Exit Plan.

Question: “What should be in an Exit Plan?”
Answer: A Comprehensive Exit Plan should include the following:
• Your retirement goals and objectives.
• A listing of your current personal and business financial resources.
• A strategy to build and protect the value of your business.
• A plan to sell your business to a third-party buyer OR
• A plan to transfer ownership to an insider.
• Business-continuity instructions for unexpected circumstances (e.g., death or disability).
• A personal wealth and estate plan.

Question: “What’s in it for me, the business owner?”
Answer: You’ll have confidence knowing that you’ve designed a plan to ensure the following:
• Receive maximum value for your business at the time of transition.
• Put into place tax strategies to reduce your tax burden.
• Keep yourself in control of the process.

Question: “What do you do as an Exit Planner?”
Answer: As an Exit Planner, I’m the business owner’s chief of staff. With the business owner’s input, I gather information, assemble the Exit Planning Team, and offer a set of Recommendations. I oversee the building of the Exit Plan, much like a general contractor would coordinate the construction of an office building.