Succession & Exit Planning
Design a business exit that supports your life, your family, and your legacy
Envisioning Your Business Exit
Clarifying Your “Why,” “When,” and “What’s Next”
Every successful exit begins with a clear vision of what you want life to look like after you step away from the business. We help you define your goals — whether that’s retiring at a certain age, reaching a target valuation, passing the company to family, or simply freeing up your time. Understanding your “why” and “when” guides every strategic decision that follows. With that clarity in place, we can align your exit timeline with your personal financial plan and desired lifestyle. Starting years in advance gives you the greatest flexibility and the best chance of leaving on your terms.
Preparing Your Business for Sale or Transition
Strengthening Value and Reducing Dependency on You
Maximizing the value of your business often requires deliberate work long before a sale or succession. We help you focus on the financial and structural factors that buyers and successors care about, like clean financial statements, stable cash flow, and repeatable processes. Reducing over-reliance on the owner by systematizing operations and developing a strong management team can significantly improve both valuation and buyer interest. As part of your broader financial plan, we project how different sale prices, structures, and dates will affect your retirement readiness. With a more “buyer-ready” business, you gain leverage, options, and confidence when it’s time to move forward.
Understanding Your Exit Options
Exploring the Paths From Full Sale to Gradual Transition
Business owners have more than one way to exit, and each path has tradeoffs in control, timing, and financial outcome. You might sell to an outside buyer such as a competitor or financial purchaser, pursue a management buyout or ESOP, transition to employees, or hand the reins to family. Some owners choose a clean break with a lump-sum sale, while others prefer an installment structure or remaining involved as a consultant or minority owner. We help you compare these options, considering valuation, tax impact, ongoing risk, and your personal readiness. With a clear understanding of the alternatives, you can choose the strategy that best fits your goals and values.
Buy-Sell Agreements and Contingency Planning
Protecting the Business, Owners, and Families From the Unexpected
A buy-sell agreement is essential for multi-owner businesses and highly valuable even if you’re not planning to exit soon. It defines what happens if an owner dies, becomes disabled, wants to sell, or faces other triggering events, helping prevent conflict and uncertainty. We work with you and your legal team to ensure the agreement addresses valuation, funding, and the mechanics of transferring ownership. Often, life and disability insurance are used to fund these obligations, providing the liquidity needed for a smooth buyout. This framework helps protect the business, remaining owners, and your family if the unexpected occurs.
Tax-Efficient Exit Strategies
Turning Years of Work Into After-Tax Wealth
The way your exit is structured can dramatically affect how much of the sale price you ultimately keep. We coordinate with your CPA and legal team to evaluate whether an asset sale or stock sale is more advantageous and to explore strategies such as installment sales, gradual transfers, or intra-family deals. In some situations, opportunities like favorable capital gains treatment, QSBS (Qualified Small Business Stock) rules, or planning around real estate can help reduce the overall tax bite. Trusts, family entities, or partial transfers ahead of a sale may also play a role in larger or more complex situations. By planning well in advance, you can turn your life’s work into a more efficient, durable source of personal financial security.
Life After Exit – Personal Financial Freedom
Designing Your Next Chapter With Confidence
The goal of a succession or exit plan isn’t just to leave the business — it’s to create the life you envision on the other side. Once the transition is complete, we help you establish an investment and income strategy tailored to your goals, whether that means a traditional retirement, a new venture, or more time for family and philanthropy. We integrate sale proceeds or ongoing payments into your broader financial plan, ensuring taxes, risk, and cash flow are all thoughtfully managed. Many owners find they can finally breathe easier knowing both their finances and their legacy are on solid footing. Planning ahead allows you to step away not just successfully, but on purpose.
Prepare for a Successful Transition
Common Questions About Succession & Exit Planning
Your Business Transition and Exit Strategy Questions, Answered
How far in advance should I start planning my business exit?
Ideally, exit planning should start at least five to ten years before you hope to leave, though even a shorter runway is better than none. Starting early gives you time to improve the business’s financials, professionalize operations, and build a management team that can function without you. It also allows for thoughtful tax planning and alignment with your personal retirement goals. With more time, you have greater flexibility in choosing your exit path and negotiating from a position of strength.
What is a business succession plan, and do I really need one?
A business succession plan outlines how ownership and leadership will transfer when you step away or if something unexpected happens. It covers who will take over, how they will be prepared, how the business will be valued, and how ownership interests will be bought or transferred. Even if you don’t plan to leave soon, a succession plan protects your company, employees, and family from chaos in the event of illness, disability, or death. Having one in place brings clarity and stability to everyone who depends on the business.
How do I know what my business is worth?
Business value is typically driven by earnings, cash flow, growth potential, and how transferable the operations are without you. While rules of thumb exist, a formal valuation or broker/CPA assessment usually provides a more reliable range. We help you understand how different assumptions affect value and what changes could make your company more attractive to buyers. Knowing your approximate value early helps you decide whether your business can fund your retirement goals and what gaps may need to be addressed.
What should a buy-sell agreement include?
A buy-sell agreement should define triggering events, valuation methods, funding mechanisms, and timelines for buying and selling ownership interests. It should also address how disputes will be handled and how disability or voluntary departures are treated. Funding is often provided by life and disability insurance, which ensures liquidity is available when needed. A clear, well-structured agreement reduces conflict, speeds up transitions, and protects all parties involved.
How can I make sure the sale of my business supports a comfortable retirement?
The key is to connect your business exit plan directly to a personal financial plan that includes retirement projections. We estimate how much you need to net from a sale, then model different sale prices, tax outcomes, and timing to see how they affect your long-term security. Once you exit, we help invest the proceeds and structure withdrawals to create a stable income that matches your lifestyle. With this integrated approach, your business transition becomes a clear step toward the retirement you want, not a leap into the unknown.
