proven Process

At the core of our business model is a conviction that most exit and succession strategies lack clarity around the business owner's personal, financial, and business objectives. We are on a mission change that. Our process starts with getting clarity around the what is most important to the owner(s).

Once we have clarity around the owner(s) objectives, we are ready for a general assessment that gives us a high level view of the owner's exit goals and how they relate to the personal, financial, and business realities.

Based on this assessment, we provide a succinct engagement proposal that outlines the path forward, milestones, and deliverables.  

Now we are ready to take a deep dive into the exit and succession strategy and planning. Asking several key questions:

1. When do you want to exit?

2. What are your financial requirements?

3. What is the value of the business today?

4. How attractive is your business?

5. How ready is your business to successfully transfer to someone else?

6. Who are you envisioning the buyer is? 

There are several different methods and approaches to valuing a business. For our purpose of benchmarking, we use a directional valuation approach. We believe that spending thousands of dollars on a valuation is pointless until you know where you are going. This does not mean you don't need a valuation or hire a valuation expert. What it does mean is this process will give you the clarity to know who to hire and what type of valuation is needed (estate planning, succession planning, strategic or financial buyer). 

In this process, it is important to be in agreement on the value of the business before moving to the next step. This will remove any hesitation or confusion as we look at scenarios and options.

Now it's time to bring everything together to understand what is possible. This phase connects the insights gathered throughout the process and begins shaping a clear plan. 

Using all the data we collected, an exit/succession planning roadmap will appear. It will show us what scenarios and options align best with the business owner's personal and financial objectives. It will address how to fill the 3 main gaps (value, profit, and wealth). 

It will address "who" needs to be on the team to make this all happen. It will create a project timeline to ensure we are sustaining focus and momentum.

A  plan only creates value, when it leads to execution. This phase transforms  vision into action. 

Our action plans are designed to move forward with intention and accountability. They include a 90-day milestone framework to track and access progress, to ensure we stay on course. 

Each member of the of the exit planning team will be accountable to deliver on their scope of work. This ensures alignment, follow-through, and sustain momentum toward the desired outcome.