How To Realize A Massive Return On The Sale Of Your Business

You have spent years, likely decades, overcoming challenges and building a successful business. 

Congratulations! You have accomplished an amazing feat very few people achieve. However, your greatest challenge may lay before you: successfully transitioning to the next phase of life. For the small number who succeed, life is amazing. Unfortunately, most business owners will fall far short of getting the return or having the life they could.

Here are 4 reasons why:

1. It’s very difficult to do and it involves many life areas
2. You have never done it before 
3. The stakes are extremely high – financially, relationally, emotionally
4. It’s hard to find a guide who has successfully traveled this path before 

The members of our team have been guiding business owners for many years. Here are 3 critical steps we’ve learned from helping our clients thrive through and after the sale of their business:

1. Begin With The End In Mind– You must know where you are going, or you will never achieve your target. What does your preferred future look like? You and your spouse need to discuss what your individual and combined future will entail. What are your possibilities? A financial plan is critical to help you know how important your business assets are to your future and for you to know if you have enough to fund the future you desire. It will clarify for both spouses what income arrives when and how your net worth adjusts over time. An up-to-date estate plan is also essential to protect your spouse and family in case you pass away prematurely. You need to address how you will fund your tax bill as well as how much is enough for your children. These plans bring tremendous peace of mind and freedom to pursue the future you desire.
   
   
2. Find The Right Guide– You need an experienced, holistic, multi-disciplined team to work with your existing professionals, as well as, provide counsel and direction beyond what your current team provides. To create a massive return and keep it, you need to address these 5 items:
   • Tax Planning – The sale of a successful business will trigger a significant tax liability. Tax planning and charitable giving can mitigate some of this bill. These strategies need to be integrated with your financial and estate plans.
   • Maximizing Your Business Value – This may hurt your ego, but it won’t hurt your pocketbook. The less dependent your business is on you being there the more valuable it is. Buyers want to buy a business not a job. What can you do to enhance your team, give you more freedom and lift the business value? How can you strengthen your financials? Where is the low hanging fruit that can enhance the value with limited effort?
   • Business Succession – Whether you are selling to family members or a third party you need a team that can provide objective counsel, help minimize relational challenges, develop realistic financial models and establish a framework of accountability. This objective counsel is also needed to help you have an appropriate view of what your ‘baby’ is actually worth to someone who does not hold your natural prejudice.
   • Family Counsel – If you are selling to family members, existing challenges will intensify, and new ones will surface. You will not succeed without experienced council to help each person work through the relational aspect of succession. Your team needs to help you determine if the next potential owners have the skillset and passion to be successful or simply share your last name.
   • Investment Counsel – You’ve worked your lifetime creating a valuable asset. Your significant net worth was created by concentrating your efforts, to preserve your net worth you now need to diversify. However, you need a team that knows how to protect your principal and grow it but do so with limited exposure to the turmoil of the traditional stock and bond markets. Stable, non-traditional investments allow you to enjoy life instead of worrying about market swings.
     
     
3. Find Your Sweet Spot– You were created for greatness, you have achieved things very few people have, you are at the top of your game and the next phase of life can be the most enjoyable and impactful yet! Transitioning out of your business is a big, big deal but to THRIVE you need to reach a point where you begin to focus on what you are transitioning to and let what you are transitioning from begin to fade. Your future is brighter and bigger than your past. The steps mentioned earlier help you maximize the monetization of your business. This step has even more value as it helps you get the absolute best possible life with the resources you have. You have thrived to this point in life because you had purpose. To continue to thrive you need to refine your purpose to fit this next stage of life.

 A wonderful opportunity awaits you. Enjoying a massive return on the sale of your business goes way beyond the money. You can thrive through this stage and the next, but you need an experienced guide to help you navigate the new territory. Day after day our team is helping business owners enjoy their journey to their preferred future. Call today to discover how you, too, can enjoy this massive return.