A great exit planning philosophy
Published courtesy of the Exit Planning Institute. This blog first appeared on their website on April 4, 2018.
Exit planning is business strategy.
Official ‘Exit Planning’ Definition: Exit planning combines the plan, concept, effort, and process into a clear, simple strategy to build a business that is transferable through strong human, structural, customer, and social capital. The future of the business owner, his/her family, and the business itself are addressed by exit planning through creating value today.
Exit planning is not just a plan. It is a strategy rooted in execution that grows value while expanding options so that an owner can transition the business on his/her terms when they are ready. It aligns the business, personal, and financial needs of the owner. Certified Exit Planning Advisors (CEPA) educate the owner on all of the exit options and enters an engagement with an exit-option-agnostic perspective as to truly serve the business owner’s diverse needs. CEPAs collaborate with a seasoned, multi-disciplinary team of professionals to support the success of the business owner and use each other’s specialties and expertise to the benefit of the project.
The Value Acceleration Methodology
The Value Acceleration Methodology™ is your strategic framework for executing exit planning. It is the value management system that makes the timing of an exit irrelevant. Exit planning is laser-focused on what you can do right now to grow the value of the business and drive income. Forget the future. Focus on today. By focusing the approach on building a business with characteristics that drive value and integrating the owner’s personal and financial objectives into it now, there will be many options to exit on the owner’s timeline and terms.
These concepts are covered in depth in Chris Snider’s book, Walking to Destiny: 11 Actions an Owner Must Take to Rapidly Grow Value and Unlock Wealth.
Want to learn more? Check out our podcast:
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
The Exit Planning Institute (EPI) is an education company that provides exit planning education to advisors and middle market business owners. We view exit planning as a strategy, not an event. EPI leads the professional services profession with the best industry content, ongoing support, and owner education platform, all of which align with our mission: Change the outcome.