How can You Boost Your Business Valuation?

Increase Your Business Acquisition Attractiveness by:

• Developing a market presence that is desired by potential buyers
• Obtain critical mass with demonstrated consistent growth across niches
• Maintain higher margins than your competitors
• Add value with a management team and systems
• Create effective planning that aligns your business motives with your employee’s actions

If you haven’t already done so, make sure you register yourself to attend the FREE Webinar I’m running so you can learn all you need to know about how to BOOST your Business Valuation.  I’ll be interviewing Business Valuation Guru, Sean Hutchinson live from San Francisco. Sean excels in explaining the levers you can control to increase your business valuation and I’m very certain you will learn a lot from listening to him. Register for

Date: Thursday 8th September, 2011
Time: 11.30am
Register Now for the FREE webinar at http://yourbusinesssuccession.com/bizval-webinar1.php

You can’t afford to miss this opportunity to learn all you can about how to BOOST your business profits and valuation.

Here’s to Your Profitable Business Exit!

Leigh Riley

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When a Wall Street capital markets guru from New York directly quotes what I have to say as a Succession Strategist, it’s time to pay attention, sit up and listen.   I can almost hear you thinking “I have no intentions of exiting my business for some time, so I don’t need to worry about exit planning yet”;  Sound familiar?   But Here’s why:

1. Taking notice to understand what a business buyer wants is the key to understanding how to position your business so that it can be sold any time, at a premium price through just about any circumstances.

2. These days, business buyers are getting smarter and already have the end in mind before they buy. That means they want to know you have an exit strategy in place before they buy, because one day they will want to release their capital quickly and easily too.

3. Financiers just aren’t lending on business acquisitions the way they used to before the Global Financial Crisis (GFC).  These days they also want to see there is a clearly defined exit strategy before they’ll loan to buyers wishing to purchase a business.  So you better get your business in order if you plan to sell it some time in future.

This all adds up to one very important point for you.  If you’re not prepared with an exit strategy for your business, you’re virtually not in the game as a possibility to be sold.  If you hope to profit from the business asset you’ve built, an Exit Strategy is a ‘must have’.

You will never know when, why or how you’ll leave your business.  I only know that you will definitely leave it, even if they end up carrying you out in a box.  If you would like to control the circumstances to your benefit and profit, take action today!  Implement your business exit strategy today.

Here’s to Your Profitable Exit Strategy!

Leigh Riley

(You can see the Wall Street Capital markets guru’s blog at  http://weybenjamin.wordpress.com/)

Situation:

Matt was a sole director of a thriving manufacturing company. His wife Harriet held a senior position in the company; however, she had no sign-off rights to any of the business accounts. When Matt had a stroke and fell unconscious for three months the accounts of the business were inaccessible. Although payments were being received and banked from fulfilled orders, no authorisation was available to make payment of staff wages or to suppliers for new materials.

Implications for their Business:

• Harriet attempted to obtain credit from suppliers and bankers to alleviate the cash flow crisis, however this was not easily reached due to the uncertainty of Matt’s condition and her own ability to secure a credit application
• Some staff were patient and continued to work regardless, however the reality of their own personal cash flow pinch soon resulted in them having to find work for payment
• Rapid consumption of materials meant the company’s ability for production was substantially impeded
• Customers were soon forced to order from competitors due to the lack of production.

Harriet’s application to the courts to gain authorisation to access the business accounts was long, involved, tedious and stressful. The business suffered a significant downturn and took a long time to recover.

Solution:

The matter of Matt and Harriet would never have been a problem had they received the right guidance from their advisors to arrange an enduring power of attorney (EPA). An EPA would’ve allowed a trusted person to authorise payments on Matt’s behalf so that the business could have continued to operate as smoothly as possible, at least from a cash flow perspective.

Here’s To Your Profitable Exit!

Leigh Riley

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Infighting and Disputes Devalue a Thriving Business

When you decide to join forces with colleagues in a business, your natural response is to focus on all the positives of the union.

The last thing you are likely to have on your mind is the possibility of an acrimonious separation that could result in you losing part or all of the capital you contributed to the business, as well as being denied the value that your efforts contributed.

Let’s face it – if you thought that was a possibility, you would never enter a joint venture, but the reality is that some business relationships do sour, and the worst time to attempt to negotiate fair exit terms is during a dispute.

CASE STUDY – Effects of infighting and disputes among business owners

The situational errors made by business partners Andy, Phyllis and Johanna in a professional services firm caused a tragic loss  of value due to infighting and disputes which resulted in one partner being forced out without her rightful financial entitlements.

A thriving professional services firm’s three partners began to argue among themselves about the business operations and workload. Two of the partners, Andy and Phyllis, felt they were working harder than the other, Johanna, although all were earning the same pay.

The arguments escalated into a dispute when Andy and Phyllis, who were romantically involved, ganged up on Johanna, leading to her unplanned, forced exit. With no formal agreement about succession terms in place, an unreasonable exit payment was offered to Johanna.

Johanna engaged legal representation and a costly legal battle ensued regarding equity value. The outcome was less-than-fair terms for the departing partner after costs. With all parties focused on the dispute, attention was diverted from the business operations. The result was a sizable decline in the practice value.

What’s more, during this disruptive period, some staff left, while others took advantage by slackening off. Many clients left the firm to engage alternative options due to the poor service they were receiving, some following departing staff members, effectively destroying the original value of the firm.

Cases like this demonstrate why you want to start your business relationships with the end in view, and why you must negotiate the exit terms while all partners are in a positive frame of mind.

Why Succession Solutions MUST Be Planned At The START of a Business Partnership

This situation could have been resolved easily had they started their partnership with a succession plan agreement. The conditions of the agreement would need to include the full financial terms applicable to any partner of the firm exiting under each of the possible succession triggers identified in Chapter 2 of the book, “Your Business Succession”. This would have allowed Johanna to decide whether or not the terms of exit suited her before she committed to entering the business. She would have had the ability to negotiate more favorable terms from the start, which would have saved her from the stress, legal battle and financial loss that eventuated.

You can read in detail the actual strategy outlined for the agreement in Part 5 of “Your Business Succession”.

How well prepared are you to exit your business with maximum cash flow and profit under any circumstance?

Take the FREE Business Exit Quiz and find out!

To Your Profitable Business Exit,
Leigh Riley

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Business Succession Strategy Weaknesses

In a previous series on why too many business owners fail to exit their business with maximum cash flow and profits, I identified 8 business exit strategy weaknesses which may cause a disappointing business succession outcome for you.

The previous post in this series revealed why you want to move from the Unilateral Zone to the Three Dimensional Zone Of Value™ in your business to boost your business exit cash flow and profits and this post demonstrates that transparent terms of sale can seal the deal for a favorable business exit.

How Transparent Terms Of Sale Can Seal The Deal For A Favorable Business Exit – Case Study

Chemical manufacturer, Christopher, wanted to retire from his business, which produced manufactured products and cleaning goods using protected formulas.

He easily attracted an interested buyer due to the financial data he was able to provide. However, the contract sale terms were terminated when it became clear to the buyer that the chemical formulas were not clearly documented, and Christopher was not willing to provide these in a written format with a manual.

The buyer lost faith due to the seller’s lack of transparency, and abandoned the sale.

This was a wake up call for Christopher and he finally agreed to provide the documentation, but the buyer no longer wished to proceed with the transaction, because he now believed that Christopher was less than honorable.

As you read this case study, it may seem very obvious to you how this problem could have been avoided. However, as was the case with Christopher, too many business owners are unaware of how their actions (or lack of action) can affect their business exit until it is too late.

So I can’t emphasize strongly enough how important it is for you to be transparent and to document clearly exactly what you intend to include in the sale of your business as you prepare to exit.

How to document your business processes is discussed in more detail in my book, Your Business Succession: How To Exit Your Business For Maximum Cash Flow And Profit with specific solutions to Christopher’s business exit problem in Part 5.

How well prepared are you to exit your business with maximum cash flow and profits? Take the FREE Business Exit Quiz (only 5 minutes) and find out exactly where your business succession strategy may be letting you down, and how to improve your chances of exiting your business for maximum profits and cash flow.

To Your Profitable Business Exit,
Leigh Riley

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Business Succession Strategy Weaknesses

In a previous series on why too many business owners fail to exit their business with maximum cash flow and profits, I identified 8 business exit strategy weaknesses that may contribute to a disappointing business succession outcome for you.

Failing to properly value your business was one of those weaknesses, and is the subject of this real life business succession case study.

The Effects Of Failing To Properly Value Your Business – Case Study

A sole director (Dave) was nearing retirement and recognized that a talented, key income-generating employee (Pete) would be an ideal candidate to take over the business.

Dave gave Pete 20% of the company without Pete paying any financial consideration, as incentive to retain him. Pete was delighted to enter into a buyout agreement set up by Dave’s accountant to acquire the further 80% over four years .

Dave based the valuation of his business on his own estimations, as he did not believe it was worth paying the accounting fee for a proper valuation.

Later, while Pete was honeymooning overseas with his new wife, Elise, he died in an accident. Elise, being well advised, arranged a business valuation and made a claim on Dave for her share of the business that she now rightfully owned as Pete’s sole beneficiary.

Dave didn’t think he should pay Elise anything, because Pete didn’t pay for the shares. What’s more, Dave was surprised to learn his business valuation was higher than he thought, so he had given away much more than he had estimated.

Unfortunately for Dave, the legal opinion was that Elise was entitled to due payment for the full amount of the valuation. Dave had to go into debt to pay Elise, significantly delaying his retirement until the debt was cleared.

This case demonstrates a strategy problem in Dave’s succession plan – while he recognised the value in arranging a succession plan, he had failed to obtain a formal business valuation, which let his entire exit strategy down. It also reveals the impact of overlooking other common areas of business failure, such as contingency and continuity problems, which are identified and discussed in detail in Part 5 of my book Your Business Succession: How To Enter, Execute And Exit Your Business For Maximum Cash Flow And Profit.

How well prepared are you to exit your business with maximum cash flow and profits? Take the FREE Business Exit Quiz (5 minutes of your time) and find out where your business succession strategy may be letting you down, so you can learn how to improve your chances of building a business for maximum profits and cash flow and profit.

To Your Profitable Business Exit,
Leigh Riley

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Seven Business Succession P.R.O.F.I.T.S. Keys

All business owners want to exit their business with maximum cash flow and profits. My previous posts and series have mostly focused on identifying the habits and faults that will weaken your business’s potential to generate the cash flow and profits you desire when you leave your business, either through planned or unplanned circumstances.

This post holds out a candle of hope by presenting practical exit strategy steps as I introduce you to my Seven Business Succession P.R.O.F.I.T.S. Keys. My next series of blogs will detail real life case studies in which I will refer frequently to my Succession P.R.O.F.I.T.S. Keys, so this is a timely opportunity to introduce them:

Succession Profit Key 1: Proceed with the End in Mind

• Plan your business and exit sale NOW
• Set your exit goals
• Schedule and program the implementation of your business exit plan
• Formulate policies prevent fraud within your business
• Develop standardized procedures to support your business policies
• Create systems
• Employ the right people

Succession Profit Key 2: Reduce Tax by Choosing the Best Structure

• Seek advice about the right structure to minimize exit taxation from the start
• Plan to leverage capital gains tax relief laws

Succession Profit Key 3: Organise Your Business to Be Free from Debt Commitments

• Understand your obligations with guarantees
• Inform yourself about different types of guarantees
• Discover how to release your business from a guarantee
• Recognise when you can transfer responsibility to another guarantor

Succession Profit Key 4: Flag Potential Funding Solutions for Your Profitable Succession

• Explore your exit strategy options
• Identify various vendor finance arrangements
• Understand Buy-Sell Agreements
• Consider the possibilities of an ESOP (Employee Share Ownership Plan)

Succession Profit Key 5: Identify Ideal Buyers and the Selling Process

• Prepare early to find a buyer
• Learn how to identify a potential buyer
• Formulate your Business Vendor Statement
• Find your potential buyers
• Plan for the transfer
• Buyer – conduct due diligence
• Seller – conduct due diligence
• Negotiate your sale price
• Finalize your contract of sale
• Be prepared for post-sale emotions

Succession Profit Key 6: Take Control of Your Business Sale Price

• Be prepared for unplanned events and exits
• Have a plan to cover disputes within your business that may affect your profitable exit
• Insure against contingencies
• Understand the various types of business insurance that you may need
• Use insurance to protect your business sale price
• Understand how to structure insurance ownership for a smooth and profitable succession

Succession Profit Key 7: Seek Guidance from a Team of Suitably Qualified Succession Specialists

• Understand why you really want a team of succession experts to guide your business exit plan
• Appreciate the role of each specialist with a succession planning team
• Assemble your team succession specialists

To Your Profitable Business Exit,
Leigh Riley

PS
My next post will begin a series of real life business exit case studies. While you wait, please feel free to take advantage of these resources to make a start on your profitable business exit strategy now:

1. Take the Business Exit Quiz (it’s FREE and will take no more that 5 minutes of your time) to find out where your exit strategy may be letting you down, and how to improve your chances of building a business for maximum profits and cash flow.
2. Read my book “Your Business Succession” to discover what you must do to ensure you will overcome any potential situation with P.R.O.F.I.T.S outlined earlier in this article.

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Would Your Business Exit Strategy Gain The Royal Seal Of Approval?

Succession planning is an important part of every business, even when you’re in the ‘business’ of running an entire empire. The British royal family is an entity that needs to ensure continuity, just like any successful business, and as one of the longest standing entities in the world there are many succession planning tips that can be gleaned from their succession hiccups and subsequent strengths.

Consider one of the most famous royal succession dilemmas – the abdication of King Edward VIII in 1936. King Edward’s lifestyle decision to leave the family business left his brother Albert to step up with short notice to become King George VI.  Without a clear succession path already in place, and a suitably trained candidate waiting in the wings, the sudden change in the line of succession could have been a disaster.

The plight of the British Royals could have again been compromised when King George’s rein was ended by his sudden death.  His daughter, Elizabeth II, was forced to automatically assume the helm at the young age of 26.  A daunting task by anyone’s measure, especially for one so young.  However, the impeccable preparation helped to overcome a difficult and potentially unsuccessful situation, and produced instead, what is not only the second longest serving royal in history, but arguably the most successful monarch ever.

Such an exemplary track record was developed over time as a result of many instances of meandering succession. Back-up plans and specific succession strategies for the royal family eventually evolved and are now solidly in place. Instead of assuming succession will go to plan, they identify a second, third, fourth all the way down to 54th in line for the throne!

All those in the succession line have an understanding of their responsibility and the protocols of the business they are in, which maximizes continuity despite death, disability or any other unexpected events. No argument can change who will succeed because the details are well documented in the British Constitution – which contains the royal equivalent of a formal, written succession plan.

In addition to a written plan, the royal family also has the Parliamentary Statute, which essentially acts as a ‘board’ to make fair decisions about succession problems if and when required.  The Statute has the power to deprive Sovereigns of their title due to misgovernment. It came into existence in 1868, when intervention by the government became necessary after King James II fled England, leaving the throne vacant. Parliament ruled that he had abdicated, and so they offered the position to James’s daughter and her husband as joint rulers.

How To Plan Your Business Succession Like A Royal

The lessons learned by the British royal family throughout history provide an excellent guide to the key elements required for your business succession planning success:

• Identify potential successors. The British parliament and the royal family would not allow just anyone to take over the throne.  Similarly, most business owners feel strongly about the kind of person they believe can successfully continue their organisation in the future.

Think about who the most likely candidates to take over and buy your business might be. Often the most suitable candidates are people already known to your business. They may be internal, such as co-owners or staff, or even external competitors or suppliers.

Are there special attributes or qualifications that potential new owners must have? This may include legal, financial, licensing or educational factors. Early identification of candidates for succession  allows ample time for the necessary training and personal preparation so the successor is ready to take the ‘throne’ when the time comes.

• Recognize that family ties aren’t enough to ensure successful succession. Family members in business often make verbal agreements because they share a presumed relationship of trust. Many business owners have fallen on hard times because they believed their relationship with other parties ensured the agreement would be honored in the manner intended.

The problem with verbal agreements amongst family members is that circumstances can change; people’s recollections become blurred over time and misunderstandings result not only in relationship breakdown, but also in business breakdown, often with devastating consequences for all concerned.

• Communicate the process clearly so that everyone involved understands what is expected. This is important because too often in business insufficient thought is put into who will step up to fill management roles.

Assumptions are sometimes made without consultation or discussion with the individuals concerned. How to divide a business in a family situation, for example, can be one of the hardest decisions of all, particularly if the main asset you hold is your business and you have one or more children competing to eventually take control. If business continuity and an amicable outcome in terms of maintaining the quality of your relationships are important to you, a wise strategy is to communicate your intentions to all those involved, and to gain feedback and acceptance from the main stakeholders.

If you fail to do this you can be fairly confident that you will reap disaster in terms of financial disappointment and relationship breakdown.

• Document the legal process. The British Constitution wasn’t created in a day and it certainly wasn’t the work of one individual. Your accountant, lawyer and financial adviser need to work together to ensure your succession plan documents are in order to ensure a smooth and profitable succession.

One of the biggest mistakes made by owners is to assume that the business’s existing Shareholder Agreement or their personal estate plan is sufficient to handle the succession process. Depending on the strategy you choose, you may require any number of legal documents to ensure a smooth succession plus maximum cash flow and profit.

These may include a buy-sell agreement, which gives the first right of buy-out to a given party, or an Employee Share Ownership Plan (ESOP) which may be implemented to allow key employees to join in ownership of the company. ESOPs are already widely used globally and are increasingly being used more in Australia to ensure that successors are financially prepared to fund the buy-out.

• Prepare for contingencies because in real life things don’t always go to plan. Royal, or not, individuals change their mind, act unpredictably, sometimes irresponsibly and have their own passions and motivations.

Disputes, death, disability and divorce are also factors that can disrupt a business’s operations. Planning for all the positives is a good idea, but overlooking possible problems you may face isn’t realistic and doesn’t allow you to mitigate potential issues and create a more certain outcome.

• Appoint a mini board. Just like the Parliamentary Statute in place to oversee British Royal family operations, you can appoint a board to assist with decision making when required. A board may allow you to draw upon knowledge and experience that is not available within your business, and can benefit you by providing arms-length impartiality, fairness and accountability to your succession planning that may not be achievable on your own.

Many small to medium business owners believe that their size prevents them from having a board, but this isn’t the case. Even small businesses can benefit from having a ‘mini-board’ to ensure some degree of impartiality when it comes to making business decisions, especially surrounding what can be emotionally charged succession planning issues.

The succession strategies responsible for the longevity of the British royal firm offer clear evidence that these factors form the basis for assured long-term continuity, and that using these principles can allow your business legacy to live on, long into the future.

To Your Proftable Business Exit,
Leigh Riley

Leigh Riley is the author of the first book of Australian case studies on succession planning, ‘Your Business Succession’, providing  strategic, tactical, practical and educational support for business owners who want to exit their business with maximum cash flow and profits.

More information and free book chapters are available at Your Business Succession blog

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4 Leadership And Management Challenges That Cause Business Exit Problems

Four business leadership and management challenges have the potential to impact the success of your business profits at all stages of the business cycle, and may have a particularly dramatic impact at the time of exit, depriving you and/or your successors of the result you anticipated from your business succession.

Business succession problems arise from one or more of the five exit strategy weaknesses I identified previously:

1. business strategy weaknesses.
2. structural faults.
3. situational errors.
4. sustainability breakdowns.

Reason # 5, business leadership and management challenges, is the subject of this post.

The 4 business leadership and management challenges that cause business succession problems:

1. Does Your Successor Have the Skills to Keep the Business Operating Profitably? Financial Capacity and Competency – If your potential buyer does not have the financial capacity to buy you out in one lump sum, you are left financially vulnerable.
   The buyer’s personal credibility, integrity, credit history and financial responsibility becomes a further risk for the seller to consider, because the seller is effectively providing credit to the buyer. If the new owner’s capacity to operate the business is impaired in any way, the result could dramatically drive down the end sale price you receive.
   Loyalty to Your Staff and Customers -  Some business owners won’t mind how the business is operated once they’ve left, particularly if they’ve received their full financial settlement upon transfer. However, others may have built up a substantial loyal customer base and will leave behind staff with whom they’ve developed caring relationships. Other business relationships, such as those developed with suppliers, may also be impacted by a change of ownership in your business.
   These established relationships can burden the exiting owner with feelings of responsibility, so it’s important for them to ensure that the new owners have the skills and integrity to treat all the remaining parties in a fair and appropriate manner. You will want to be sure they can continue to operate a viable service so those people who have served you well during your business life are looked after.
2. Failing to Declare Income Reduces Your Business Value and Will Not Attract Your Most Profitable Buyer.
   Business owners who operate on a cash basis without declaring their true income through annual tax returns will not be able to present their business as viable and profitable, so not only are they breaking the law and placing a heavier tax burden on other members of the community, they are also doing themselves a great disservice. If a buyer can be found, it will almost certainly be at a price that is much lower than the seller would desire.
3. A Poorly Systematized And Poorly Documented Business.
   Business owners who hold all the client and supplier details, business procedures and other operational data in their head, rather than documented in an orderly format, are doomed to failure in their attempts to obtain a buyer at the business’s true value.
4. Sibling Rivalry.
   When the head of a family business fails to demonstrate strong leadership when deciding which child should succeed him or her, it can be a major source of conflict that has the potential to lead to family breakdown.
   Common sense says that the child who has the most skill and aptitude should be chosen to take the helm, but emotion and family dynamics can lead to an inability to determine this fairly.
   Conflict in a family business will usually lead to operational problems that will cause a downturn in the business, thus affecting the business value and its eventual sale price.

In my latest book, “Your Business Succession : How To Exit Your Business For Maximum Cash Flow And Profit” you can read three real life case studies (Cases 16, 17 and18), which detail the business exit consequences of poor leadership and management decisions made by business owners, and how those outcomes could have been avoided with appropriate planning for a profitable and stress free business exit.

Your business succession strategy should cover all the leadership and management issues we have just identified for you.

In a future series I’ll share some case studies that will help you to understand the influence of each of these sustainability breakdowns in detail, so you can plan how to overcome these problems before they can have any impact on your profitable business exit.

In the meantime please feel free to take advantage of these resources to make a start on your profitable business exit strategy now:

1. Take the Business Exit Quiz (5 minutes of your time) and find out where your exit strategy may be letting you down, and how to improve your chances of building a business for maximum profits and cash flow.
2. Read my book “Your Business Succession” to discover what you want to do to ensure you will be prepared to steer clear of any of the leadership and management challenges outlined in this article.
3. Contact our Business Succession Strategy office to plan your business succession strategy, so we can eliminate the stress of making the right decisions for your best chance of maximizing your business valuation for a profitable exit.

To Your Profitable Business Exit,
Leigh Riley

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Your business exit profitability is directly dependent upon the ability of your business to continue to operate at a sustainable or profitable level.

Business succession problems are the result of one or more of the five weaknesses that I have previously identified:

Reason #1 was strategy weaknesses.
Reason # 2 was structural faults.
Reason # 3 was situational errors.
Reason # 4, sustainability breakdown, is the subject of this post.

Three sustainability breakdowns have the potential to impact the success of your business exit, and therefore your business exit cash flow and profit.

The 3 sustainability breakdowns that cause business succession problems:

1. Family Business Continuity Problems.  In Chapter 10 of Your Business Succession the Cabernet family represents an example of the difficulties associated with business continuity when one or more co-owners want to exit, but the remaining owners wish to continue. If the owners who wish to continue do not have the financial capacity to buy the exiting parties’ shares, they can be forced to give up their life’s work.
2. Buyer Market Limitations – Barriers To Entry. The barriers to entry into your business may limit the number of potential available buyers in the marketplace. This, in turn, may delay your business exit if adequate time and planning is not applied to find a suitable successor. Main barriers to business entry include:

• licensing and registration restrictions
• financial limitations
• funding limitations
• emotional barriers
• the burden of debt

3. Failure To Recognize When It Is Time To Leave. Staying beyond a reasonable time can drive a business into ruin if you’re no longer capable of running it at peak performance. You must be truthful with yourself about when the right time is to leave if you want to exit your business with maximum cash flow and profit.

In my latest book, “Your Business Succession | How To Exit Your Business For Maximum Cash Flow And Profit” you can read three real life case studies which detail the sustainability breakdowns suffered by business owners in three very different industries, and how those issues could have been avoided with the right business exit strategy.

Your business exit strategy should cover all the relevant sustainability issues we have just identified.

In a future series I’ll share some case studies that will help you to understand the influence of each of these sustainability breakdowns in detail, so you can plan how to overcome these problems before they can have any impact on your profitable business exit.

In the meantime please feel free to take advantage of these resources to make a start on your profitable business exit strategy now:

1. Take the Business Exit Quiz (5 minutes of your time) and find out where your business exit strategy may be letting you down, and how to improve your chances of building a business for maximum profits and cash flow
2. Read my book “Your Business Succession” to discover what you want to do to ensure you will be prepared to sidestep any of the  sustainability issues outlined in this article.
3. Contact our Business Succession Strategy office to plan your business exit strategy, so we can eliminate the stress of making the right decisions for your best chance of maximizing your business valuation for a profitable exit.

To Your Profitable Business Exit,
Leigh Riley

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