Business Exit Planning

If you’re like most business owners, a significant portion of your wealth is tied up in the business! Without a clear exit strategy, much of that value could be lost. The window to act doesn’t stay open forever — planning now is the key to protecting what you’ve built and getting the most happiness and wealth from your exit. A few years of advance planning can materially improve what may be the biggest financial transaction of your life and profoundly affect happiness for you and your loved ones.

Ready to see how prepared you really are? Take our Free Exit Readiness Assessment

Sooner or later, every owner leaves his or her business. Whether you anticipate selling the company to a third party, transitioning to employee ownership, or a family succession, every strategy results in your eventual exit. The complexities of tax law, combined with the expectations of buyers of any type, lend themselves to careful structuring of a transfer.

For most owners, transfer of ownership represents the biggest single financial transaction of their lifetime. In our experience, no owner has ever said, “I spent too much time business exit planning.”

Consider recent statistics:

• 100% of business owners will leave their businesses, whether planned or otherwise.
• 79% of business owners plan to exit their businesses in the next 10 years.
• 80% of owners believe that a successful exit will result from planning and action items they implement.
• But … Only 17% of owners have created a written exit plan … and it can take 3 to 5 years to implement one for maximum benefit.

Why Start Now?

There are three good reasons to begin the planning process, even for those who believe they are ten or more years from their eventual exit.

1. Many tax reduction strategies, such as business structure conversions, certain trusts and others, take years to fully implement.
2. Once you know your exit objective, it will influence all of your business decisions. For example, hiring managers who will work for the next owner is a very different approach from training your future successors.
3. Even a few years of planning can make a dramatic difference in value. We have seen 2x and 3x increases in business valuation in as short as 2 years and 5-10x in 5 years. The sky is the limit!

Exit plan guarantee: a 15 minute Exit Readiness Assessment could not only add millions to your retirement, but also profoundly affect post-exit happiness for you and your loved ones.

What If I Don’t Have a Date in Mind Yet?

A Silver Tsunami of Exiting Business Owners

Some 50% of small employers (5 to 500 employees) in the United States are owned by people over 60 years old. These are the Baby Boomers, born between 1945 and 1964. As a generation, they have been characterized by their dedication to work in the pursuit of material comforts. As business owners, they have stayed “on the job” longer and in greater numbers than any previous generation.

An exodus from businesses ownership was predicted when the first Boomers turned 65 in 2010, but only about a third have done so to date. The remaining 2,000,000 business owners with a median age of 70 are creating a surge in demand for financial and business planning services.

Key Aspects of Exit Planning

Exit planning is the process of developing your strategy for the transfer of the business.  This plan includes some of the most important decisions you will make as a business owner. You may choose succession to the next generation, or, it could be a sale to employees, or, maybe you will sell to another entrepreneur, or you may even be strategically acquired by a larger company.

Your exit involves tax, legal, financial, operational and risk management expertise. Exit planning is coordinating those skills so that they work together for a single objective. We help identify your objectives, your resources, and maximize the business’ value.

Benefits of creating and executing a business exit plan:

• Achieves both your business and personal goals
• Maximizes company value and minimizes taxes
• Assists in the survival and growth of the business
• Provides peace of mind for owner AND THEIR FAMILIES
• Preserves harmony among all business owners

A few years of advance planning can materially improve what may be the biggest financial transaction of your life and profoundly affect happiness for you and your loved ones.

What Our Clients Say

“It was a pleasure working with Adam Noble Group on the sale of my security business. They showed a high degree of professionalism through the entire process with great communication. Anytime I had a question or concern he immediately addressed it regardless of where he was (even while Jeff was in the middle of a hurricane). My degree of satisfaction personally exceeded my highest expectations as he mentored me through exit planning and the sale process. His coaching was extremely helpful as he brought potential buyers sooner then I was expecting. 

I always felt they took a great personal interest in me and my family and were careful to make sure I was ok with the direction and terms of the sale. I have appreciated their follow up as transition was being made with new ownership and potential issues addressed in a discreet manner.”

— Keith Short, President, Asset Retrieval & Investigations, LLC

“We were extraordinarily pleased with how Adam Noble Group handled the recent sale of our family business. Their service was exemplary, and a pleasure to work with throughout the sale of the business. They helped us understand the exit planning process, including many recommendations to maximize the business value, walked us through all the details and paperwork involved, and provided service well beyond our expectations (even to the point of rescuing the sale after-hours the night before closing when the bank suddenly required unexpected extra documents at the last minute.)

We were so thankful for his help to the buyer as well, from finding financing to coordinating with bankers, with solid advice and follow-through on the vast amount of paperwork involved. We greatly appreciated their personal service, professionalism, attention to detail, honesty, and extraordinary availability whenever we had a question or concern. We couldn’t have done it without them.”

— Bill and Vivian Mock, Owners, Grand Prairie Feed & Garden Supply

Experienced Business Exit Planner

When it’s approaching the time to sell your business or transfer ownership to your family, or key employees, Adam Noble Group can help you plan and implement your business succession strategy.

Using an established planning process, we gather extensive data about your company, assess your personal needs and wishes, construct a comprehensive exit plan, and help you implement the plan. We bring in selected professionals as needed, such as financial planners, CPAs, estate and business transaction attorneys and independent business valuation experts.

 

The end result is a comprehensive business exit plan that thoroughly addresses:

• The business owner’s needs, goals and objectives
• The most suitable corporate structure
• A business valuation
• Coordination of sales to third parties or transition to an insider
• Retention strategies for key employees
• Tax-efficient succession strategies
• Considerations for timing of the sale or succession

 

BELOW: START OUR FREE 15-MINUTE BUSINESS EXIT READINESS ASSESSMENT TO DETERMINE YOUR BUSINESS EXIT READINESS. We can create an action plan tailored to your business exit plan needs.