For Business Exit Planning Or Legacy Planning Or Just Plain Old Financial Upkeep

Our first year together begins with a detailed interview process: sixty-plus questions that cover everything except your financials. We learn about you. That includes who you are, what drives you, what matters to you, your goals, your ambitions, your worries and obstacles—including what’s real and imagined. We dive deep into all this, then turn to what you want to accomplish and what might stand in the way. We hold off on the financials to assure we’re a good fit—us for you, of course, but also you for us. This helps us screen out owners of lifestyle enterprises who are not interested in getting their business to the next level before they leave. We take client selection seriously because the professionals we’ve assembled possess the expertise to help owners and entrepreneurs who are accustomed to achieving at a high level. The clients we serve typically head up closely held, highly profitable firms, and they often include the company’s founder. These leaders count on us to help them maximize the financial rewards their hard work has earned and to assure a smooth transition for themselves, their families, and their companies when they retire.

Next, the financial work begins. We complete an extremely granular examination and assessment of every facet of your business and personal finances to uncover the financial, legal, and tax issues you’re likely to face. We pay special attention to the possible ramifications of any future business transitions and begin doing something we will do continuously, right up to the moment you retire: we run your transition plans through numerous conceivable timelines and scenarios—not just when the company will transition, but how. Will it be passed on to the next generation? Will it be sold to an employee group, an outside interest, or perhaps even go public? We don’t look at one or two of these possibilities. We look at dozens of common contingencies, and at what happens if the timeline changes. Only when we’ve completed all the foundational year one tasks can we turn to the actual transition planning and implementation phase of the Getting Out Gracefully process. That includes understanding your goals and motivations, ensuring we’re a good fit, formally committing to working together in your best interest, and conducting the in-depth review of your business and personal finances. That phase typically begins eight to twelve months into the relationship with something we call the “Vision Blueprint”.

Transition planning isn’t easy. It can’t be shortcut- it can’t be templated. Your business is unique and your goals lofty. You need a planner that treats your business that way.