Exit Strategies

Contact Patrick Brazil for a no-obligation review

1-800-695-4179   

 
Our process bkny2 Leave Your Business in Style
Exit Planning helps business owners set, sort through, and achieve their exit objectives.  It enables owners to leave their companies when they want, to the successor they want, and with the amount of cash they need.
Without exception, every owner leaves his or her company.  Whether you do it in style depends on the specific exit planning actions you take before you leave.
"At some point, every 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, The Completely Revised How To Run Your Business So You Can Leave It In Style
If you see ownership change in your future, we can help you plan a successful business exit.  We can help you answer the seven planning questions located below and identify qualified advisors to help you through the process.

 

 Exit Planning involves answering "YES" to seven questions:
  1. Do you know your exact retirement goals and what it will take - in cash - to reach them?
  2. Do you know how much your business is worth today, in cash?
  3. Do you know the best way to maximize the income stream generated by your ownership interest?
  4. Do you know how to sell your business to a third party and pay the least possible taxes?
  5. Do you know how to transfer your business to family members, co-owners, or employees while paying the least possible taxes and enjoying maximum financial security?
  6. Do you have a continuity plan for your business if the unexpected happens to you?
  7. Do you have a plan to secure financial independence for your family if the unexpected happens to you?

 

 What We Offer Business Owners
  • Experience and resources that allow us to guide owners through the Exit Planning process. 
  • No-cost initial consultations to explain how the Exit Planning Process works.
  • Access to state-of-the-art Exit Planning resources.
  • Through our process you will crystallize your goals and objectives and have a clear Action List stating action to be taken, due dates for each action and the name of the advisor responsible for its completion.
  • We maintain relationships with professionals in other disciplines experienced in the Exit Planning process.  We can help you find the advisor you need.
  • We present seminars on a variety of Exit Planning topics.

 

 White Papers
This White Paper discusses four primary problems sole-owned and co-owned companies face when an owner dies or becomes disabled.  It proposes solutions to each one of the four problems.  This White Paper includes the "Business Continuity Instruction Form" for sole-owners.
 
What Difference Does It Make?  Use this White Paper to explain why the best form of business entity (C or S) for tax purposes during a business's start up and operational years may not be the best when it comes time to sell the business.  Descriptive case studies and clear tables help show owners why entity choice is so important.
 
This White Paper discusses the paths which allow a business owner to leave a company in qualified hands.  Incentives can be equity-based or cash-based, but all plans bind employees to the business and help it to accrue value.  This White Paper explores several plan options so an owner can determine which path is best.
 
This White Paper uses a fictional business owner to illustrate how an owner can use an ESOP (Employee Stock Ownership Plan) to achieve three ownership objectives: 1) to cash out at fair market value; 2) to pay no taxes on the sale; and 3) to transfer the company to key employees.  While examining how ESOPs work, their advantages and disadvantages, readers learn that ESOPs do not work for all owners or for every company.  They do, however, provide opportunity for some owners to leave their businesses in style.
 
When owners think about exiting their companies, the number of exit routes might seem unending.  In fact, there are only eight.  This White Paper discusses the advantages and disadvantages of each one.  Most importantly, it describes a process that enables owners to choose the best exit path for them.
 
At some point, every owner leaves his or her business - voluntarily or otherwise.  This issue discusses the proven Seven-Step Exit Planning Process™ designed to achieve an owner's financial and other goals.
 
Owners wishing to sell their businesses to management (key employees) face one unpleasant fact: their employees have no money.  Nor can they borrow any - at least not in sufficient quantity to cash out the owner.  The transfer methods described in this White Paper employ a long-term installment buyout of the owner or use someone else's money to affect the buyout.
 
One of a business owner's greatest challenges is to attract, motivate, and keep key employees.  Keeping key employees is absolutely critical, however, if the business is to be sold at the highest possible price.  This White Paper describes the design elements of a Stay Bonus Plan as well as how to convert a long-term key employee incentive plan into a short term plan.
 
It is the job of every business owner to create value in his or her business prior to any transfer or sale.  Exactly how do owners do that?  Read this White Paper to learn about those characteristics (or Value Drivers) that buyers look for when deciding how much to pay for a business.
 
Successful business owners often wrestle with the issue of how to pass wealth to children in a way that minimizes - legitimately - their tax bills.  This White Paper explains to owners how such a transfer can be designed as well as:
  • Why fixing their own financial objective precedes any transfer; and,
  • How to determine the amount (and if that amount is too much) to be transferred.
This White Paper uses a case study to illustrate the plan design and includes an explanation of GRATs (Grantor Retained Annuity Trust).