Put Your Business to Work — for You
You've poured your heart and soul into building your company, creating a vibrant enterprise that’s now generating a steady profit. But how can you turn that business into a significant, saleable asset that can offer true Financial Freedom and help fund your retirement — or a third act? Maximizing the value of your business with an eventual exit in mind can set you up for more success in the here and now — and a smooth, successful transition to your next stage of life, whatever and whenever that may be.
Transition planning, also known as Exit planning, is a crucial aspect of any successful business strategy, yet it's often overlooked or misunderstood. As founding members of the Exit Planning Institute's (EPI’s) Orlando Chapter, Merit Wealth Advisors has a systematic process to help guide you and position your business to build market value over time. With our deep expertise as financial planners, we’re uniquely qualified to help integrate your business growth objectives with your personal investing strategy, ensuring greater alignment toward meeting all your long-term financial goals.
What Is Exit Planning?
With the day-to-day responsibilities of running your business — staffing, selling, and never-ending administrative tasks — it’s easy to lose sight of the big picture. According to an EPI survey, most owners have 80% to 90% of their financial wealth locked in their business. And without an exit strategy to secure your freedom, that wealth is likely to remain there instead of benefiting you directly.
The exit planning process strategically and systematically examines how to maximize growth and build value in the business. It involves setting clear goals, evaluating current financial and operational strategies, effectively implementing tactical plans, and taking steps to mitigate a number of risks. Selling a business may (or may not) be the ultimate endgame, but the same process that helps prepare a company for eventual sale also offers a roadmap for better aligning a business with an owner's personal and financial objectives.
Our process offers numerous benefits for business owners, including:
- Maximizing growth. As part of a comprehensive exit plan, business owners implement strategies to improve operational efficiencies, strengthen financial systems and controls, build scalable systems, expand customer relationships, and enhance overall profitability.
- Managing risk. Just as you’d look to manage risk in your personal investment portfolio, you also want to manage risks that could threaten the profitability — and even the very existence — of your business. (See The 5 Ds: Building A More Resilient Business With Exit Planning for a list of potentially crippling risks all business owners should prepare for.) We can help guide you in building business continuity strategies to protect your company’s value in the face of an unforeseen adverse event.
- Strengthening personal financial plans. Exit planning involves evaluating the owner's personal financial situation and creating a plan to ensure personal financial freedom after exiting the business. It can help you close the wealth gap — that is, the additional wealth you need to accumulate to reach your personal financial goals (your net worth goal minus your current actual net worth). It can also help support succession plans that might include passing the business on to family members or employee ownership.
- Positioning the business for a higher sale price. This work may involve consulting with an M&A broker, growth or valuation advisor, CPA, business tax specialist, commercial insurance agent, or attorney. We bring together the right professionals to address your business needs, all within a comprehensive, personalized exit plan.
The Time to Start Is Now
To quote John Warrillow, author of the book - Built to Sell: Creating a Business That Can Thrive Without You – “The day to start thinking about exit planning is the day you start your business.” As Certified Exit Planning Advisors, we’re dedicated to helping business owners achieve desired outcomes — both financial and otherwise —even if you’re not considering selling your business anytime soon. Merit Wealth Advisors provides valuable resources and guidance to any owner looking to take the long view of their business. Or, if you need to exit sooner rather than later, our team of professionals is here to help. And through the EPI’s Orlando Chapter, we invite you to join our monthly in-person events open to all business owners ready to chart a course for the future.
Whether you're looking to sell your company, transition to new ownership, or simply create and execute a growth and value-building strategy, Merit Wealth Advisors can help. Contact us to learn more about how we can assist you in securing a brighter future for yourself and your business.