In all likelihood, you are absolutely critical to the success of your business. Without you, there is no business.

We want to fix that.

With a little luck and a lot of hard work, we can help you become an “inconsequential owner.”

At some level, all owners understand they will someday leave the businesses they have created. Let’s assume for a moment that you leave your business permanently tomorrow. If you are an inconsequential owner, your exit will have no impact on the business, and that’s good for business value. Buyers pay for business value, not for the departing owner.

If you constitute a significant part of your company’s value (i.e., you are a “consequential owner”) and you have left the scene, there likely will be few buyers interested in your company, and those who are interested likely will pay significantly less than they would had you been an inconsequential owner.

Exit planning is a process you can use to transform yourself into an inconsequential owner for your sake, your family’s sake and your company’s sake. While perhaps not the most flattering label, becoming an inconsequential owner not only increases your business’ value but also probably aligns with what your friends and children have been calling you for years!

All exit plans should answer this question: “What has to happen in my business by the time I leave it to (1) enable me (and my family) to achieve financial security; and (2) allow me to move forward with the rest of my life, confident that I have been a good steward of the business?”

The details that constitute “what has to happen” are discussed in myriad newsletters, books and white papers that we can share with you. For most owners, one of the first and most important things that “has to happen” after figuring out where they are (i.e., current business value) and where they want to go (i.e., exit objectives) is to create and sustain business value.

When we talk about value in the context of exit planning (Step Three of The Seven Step Exit Planning Process™), we divide the discussion into three areas: building value, protecting value and minimizing income taxes. The following is a summary of each area.

Building Value

• A stable and motivated management team.
• Operating systems that improve cash flow sustainability.
• Understanding and nurturing the company’s competitive advantage.
• A solid and diversified customer base.
• A realistic growth strategy.
• Effective financial controls.
• Good and improving cash flow.

Protecting Value

Minimizing Income Taxes