Exit Planning for Business Owners

 "At some point, every business owner leaves his or her business - voluntarily or otherwise.  At that time, every owner wants to receive the maximum amount of money in order to accomplish personal, financial and estate planning goals."
                                                                                 ---John H. Brown
                        "How To Run Your Business So You Can Leave It In Style"

Generally, as a business owner, you have one chance to do this right.  

 Consider the following questions for your exit planning:

1.  Have you decided:
     a) When you want to leave your business?
     b) What amount of cash or annual cash flow do you need when you exit?
     c) To whom do you want to transfer the business

2.  Do you know what your business is worth today?

3.  Do you know how to promote, protect and preserve the value of your company until you exit?

4.  Do you know how to prepare your company to be marketable to a suitable buyer?

5.  Do you know how to transfer your business to insiders while minimizing the tax burden?

6.  Do you have a plan for protecting your most valuable asset in case something unexpected happens to you?

7. Do you have a plan for managing wealth both during and after the process of exiting your business? 

Exit Planning is a Seven-Step Process that helps you establish your objectives, describe methods to help you reach your objectives and explores contingency planning.  The Seven Steps are:

Step 1 - Setting Exit Objectives   

    Step 2 - Determining Value/Price

         Step 3 - Preserving, Protecting and Promoting Value

            Step 4 - Converting Business Value to Cash - Sale to Outside Party

                Step 5 - Transferring The Business for a Promissory Note

                    Step 6 - Contingency Planning for Business

                        Step 7 - Wealth Preservation