Monument Resource Center
Our clients hire us because they recognize the value of our Team’s unique, straight-forward, unfiltered opinion and our tailored advice designed to answer their questions, not everyone else’s. Below, you’ll find some of the most important questions we have been asked over the years to help you better understand the role we play and the advice we give.
You’ve likely poured your life into growing your business, and company pride and identity flows through your DNA–no matter how removed you are from daily operations. But it is time to exit. Are you truly ready to move on? To trust someone else with the future of your company? These are questions worth asking because the reality is, there is no going back.
Business NOT as usual.
As a business owner, you ultimately are tied to your business at both a professional and a personal level. With their identity largely connected to what they do professionally, many owners face confusing and conflicting emotions when leaving their company.
As selling a business can be one of the most significant decisions of your life, the first step to planning for your exit is finding mental readiness. Once you feel ready, you can move on to the planning process in a more objective manner.
Mental Readiness
Unless you have sold a business before, it can be difficult to recognize how all-encompassing the process can be. It is important to take a few big steps back, see the full picture, and reflect–then dive into your “why.”
Start here: which group do you fall into?
Group 1:
- You are involved in the daily operations of your business.
- You have not given much thought to what you will do when you retire.
- You view your business as a job that supports your lifestyle.
Group 2:
- You are, for the most part, removed from the day-to-day operations of your business.
- You have a plan for what you want to do when you retire.
- You view your business as an investment.
The goal is to have peace of mind after selling your company. If you are in group two, you are on the right track! If you relate more to group one, consider migrating your thoughts and lifestyle to those of group two, in order to prepare yourself for your big exit.
It’s important to note that the stage of mental readiness is often where business owners can get “stuck,” because they have trouble finding the time to transition from group one to group two. A great first step for you group one owners is to start creating a “what’s next” plan. Many business owners do not understand how much their sense of self and place in the world is centered around their company, so start to plan your life without it.
Do you want to:
- Volunteer for a nonprofit or serve on a board?
- Join a tennis league?
- Spend more meaningful time with family?
- Travel?
- Sleep until 11 am every day?
- Start another company?
Moving into group 2 means looking at your life beyond your business.
The exit planning process.
When you’ve started to wrap your mind around mentally detaching from your business, it’s time to start thinking about the terms of a potential deal and your goals:
How much profit do you need from the sale?
To determine how much it’s going to take to live your ideal lifestyle post-sale, you’ll need to work closely with a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™. Once you have some guidelines in place, your lawyer or M&A advisor can help ensure that the terms outlined in any Letter of Intent (LOI) are aligned with your goals.
What type of transaction do you want?
Sure, you could sell 100% of your business, but that’s not the only option. Would seeking a partnership be better suited for you? Or will you pass ownership onto family members? What terms are you looking for? Making this decision will also help determine how your personal finances might be affected.
What is your ideal timeline?
If you landed in group one, it’s important to set a goal for when you want to sell your business so you can begin to plan for a successful exit and achieve the highest valuation. Is it in 2 years? 5 years? This gives you the opportunity to be strategic about your business strategy and give you enough time to achieve higher profitability and become more operationally sound (thus more attractive to potential buyers) before the sale.
Wherever you are in the process, consulting with a financial advisor who specializes in Exit Planning is a great place to begin.
The difference a Financial Planner makes.
As Financial Planners and Advisors, we always strive to connect with business owners like you before the sale of their business. Our detailed Private Wealth Design process can act as a force of calm and relief in the face of the anxiety and uncertainty that can all too often accompany a business exit.
Through our unique process, we help bring clarity in determining what the money from the sale of your business is for, and then we project different scenarios for the future depending on your goals. This allows you to pre-experience your decisions and understand the risks involved in your financial future.
We also connect you with a team of trusted advisors which is critical to a successful business exit, including a Wealth Advisor at Monument Wealth Management, a Deal Attorney, a Business Broker/Banker, a T&E Attorney, a CPA, and whatever else necessary.
We’ve noticed that our clients, of whom more than 50% are current or post-sale business owners, have found a lot of value in co-creating a Private Wealth Design before they exit their business. Whether you have one foot out the door or are clinging to your desk, we will help you feel more comfortable and confident in your exciting journey.
Get the Complete Selling A Business Checklist!
IMPORTANT DISCLOSURE INFORMATION
Please remember that past performance is no guarantee of future results. Different types of investments involve varying degrees of risk, and there can be no assurance that the future performance of any specific investment, investment strategy, or product (including the investments and/or investment strategies recommended or undertaken by Monument Capital Management, LLC [“Monument”]), or any non-investment related content, made reference to directly or indirectly in this blog will be profitable, equal any corresponding indicated historical performance level(s), be suitable for your portfolio or individual situation, or prove successful. Due to various factors, including changing market conditions and/or applicable laws, the content may no longer be reflective of current opinions or positions. Moreover, you should not assume that any discussion or information contained in this blog serves as the receipt of, or as a substitute for, personalized investment advice from Monument. To the extent that a reader has any questions regarding the applicability of any specific issue discussed above to his/her individual situation, he/she is encouraged to consult with the professional advisor of his/her choosing. No amount of prior experience or success should be construed that a certain level of results or satisfaction will be achieved if Monument is engaged, or continues to be engaged, to provide investment advisory services. Monument is neither a law firm nor a certified public accounting firm and no portion of the blog content should be construed as legal or accounting advice.
A copy of the Monument’s current written disclosure Brochure discussing our advisory services and fees is available for review upon request or at www.monumentwealthmanagement.com/disclosures. Please Note: Monument does not make any representations or warranties as to the accuracy, timeliness, suitability, completeness, or relevance of any information prepared by any unaffiliated third party, whether linked to Monument’s website or blog or incorporated herein, and takes no responsibility for any such content. All such information is provided solely for convenience purposes only and all users thereof should be guided accordingly.
Historical performance results for investment indices, benchmarks, and/or categories have been provided for general informational/comparison purposes only, and generally do not reflect the deduction of transaction and/or custodial charges, the deduction of an investment management fee, nor the impact of taxes, the incurrence of which would have the effect of decreasing historical performance results. It should not be assumed that your Monument account holdings correspond directly to any comparative indices or categories. Please Also Note: (1) performance results do not reflect the impact of taxes; (2) comparative benchmarks/indices may be more or less volatile than your Monument accounts; and, (3) a description of each comparative benchmark/index is available upon request.
Please Remember: If you are a Monument client, please contact Monument, in writing, if there are any changes in your personal/financial situation or investment objectives for the purpose of reviewing/evaluating/revising our previous recommendations and/or services, or if you would like to impose, add, or to modify any reasonable restrictions to our investment advisory services. Unless, and until, you notify us, in writing, to the contrary, we shall continue to provide services as we do currently. Please Also Remember to advise us if you have not been receiving account statements (at least quarterly) from the account custodian.