Probate is the legal process through which property is transferred after a property owner’s death. Generally, the probate process requires the gathering of all assets, paying off debts, and distributing the remaining assets in accordance with the deceased person’s estate plan and the law. The probate process is facilitated by a court-approved, or appointed, a person known as the administrator, executor, or personal representative of the estate.

Key employees are “key” because they have a significant impact on the current and long-term success of the business. Hence, the business owner(s) will want to be intentional and strategic in aligning compensation and incentive plans for those key employees with the owner’s goals for business growth and exit. Owners should also protect against the potential loss of these valued employees due to death or disability, as their loss can be quite damaging and even destructive to business value and future growth. Following are suggested steps to take in assigning value to your key employees.

This internal sale method works best for most owners who have the following goals:

• Transfer their business to key employees

• Motivate and retain key employees

• Receive full value for their business

Let’s look at a short case study regarding the concept of Modified Buyouts.

You might think that transferring your business to a child or family member would be the easiest exit route to facilitate. Whereas statistics reveal that only one-third of all family businesses pass successfully to the next generation, and only 10% to the third generation.

Owners considering a transfer to children often run into these obstacles, among others…

A sole owner of a business who has a spouse and/or family has not a few key planning issues that need to be addressed before it’s too late.  “Too late” being the unexpected events of death or permanent incapacity or disability.  To illustrate, let’s use the following story that is based on real life events…

Minimizing taxes, based on our experience, seems to be a “core value” shared by most, if not all, business owners. And, seldom are they more cognizant of potential tax burdens than when transacting a sale of their business. Many owners are also characterized by generosity toward others through charitable giving.

At the heart of an effective and successful plan for a business owner's exit is what we call transferable or sellable value. The transferable value being the value of your business apart from you the owner or what someone is willing to pay for the business without you.  

Following are a few sample questions for gauging the strength of your business transferable value

“Eat well and exercise!”

Just about everyone over 30 has heard this advice from someone interested in our health, usually a doctor.  We all know that we should begin by doing SOMETHING, yet we wind up not really doing anything.  We know deep inside that if we want to live long and prosper, taking a few painful steps will have long-term pay-offs, but all too often those first few steps never happen.

Small business owners are at times neglected by the wealth management community as the business is commonly (not always) the owner’s largest asset rather than a portfolio of stocks, bonds, and mutual funds. You’d be well-advised as a business owner to engage a Financial Advisor who is proactive and experienced in factoring your future plans for the business into your overall plan for managing your wealth.

Five years ago we met with the owner of a successful business who told us he wanted to exit in the next few years. When asked if he knew who he wanted to sell the business to, he responded: “I guess I will sell to a third-party buyer”. He didn’t at all seem excited about that, so with further questioning, we learned that he was moving ahead under the assumption that a sale to a third-party was his only option.

Sarah wanted to exit in 5 years and had learned through planning and analysis led by her exit planner what “her number” was, as well as an objective estimate of the value for her business. She was pleasantly surprised to find that the financial gap for making her post-business dreams happen is not insurmountable. At the same time, she is aware that growing the value of the business (Sarah’s largest asset) will be necessary to close the existing gap.

One of the compelling and common characteristics of successful owners is their optimism.  Their “glass is always half full” attitude results in the risk-taking, perseverance, and innovation it takes to build and grow a successful business.  And, like it is with any personal strength, this strength of optimism can quickly become a weakness when there is a need to plan for the gloomy business contingencies of death and disability.  What happens to the business due to either of these less than optimistic events is probably the last thing an owner wants to think about.

In my past life, when working in the financial services/wealth management industry, we helped individuals and families create financial plans for their goals such as college education or retirement.  It was very unusual to have a conversation with a client or prospective client who did not already understand that the sooner they began planning the better chance they would have in achieving their goals.

It is not uncommon for the business to be the largest asset in a business owner's estate, while also being the primary source of income for their family.  As estate planning is essentially taking control of how property is managed during life and distributed and transferred at death, a business owner cannot do exit planning without estate planning, or estate planning without exit planning.  Exit goals, such as transferring a business to children, always impact an owner's family and estate.

Janice founded her business 15 years ago at age 45 and her business has realized a modest but consistent growth rate (revenue) of 5%. Like most small business owners, she has invested her time, money, blood, sweat, and tears in building her business. Her perspective has always been “if we don’t focus on today, there may not be a tomorrow!”.

For many, January is a time of rebirth and resolutions. It’s a month to reflect on last year’s achievements and to set goals for the year ahead.

Some people will set personal goals like losing weight or quitting a nasty habit, and most company owners will set business goals that focus on hitting certain revenue or profit milestones. But if your goal is to own a more valuable business in 2019, you may want to make one of the following New Year’s resolutions:

If you’re trying to figure out what your business might be worth, it’s helpful to consider what acquirers are paying for companies like yours these days.

A little internet research will probably reveal that a business like yours trades for a multiple of your pre-tax profit, which is Sellers Discretionary Earnings (SDE) for a small business and Earnings Before Interest Taxes, Depreciation and Amortization (EBITDA) for a slightly larger business.

In some cases, employees are capable of successfully operating a business, but lack the capital to acquire it. This may become the last resort for a seller, who takes a note rather than close the doors. This approach leaves the seller in the role of silent partner, hoping that the employees can maintain the business well enough to pay the debt.

Business owners frequently approach exit planning much like a new fitness routine. They know it is necessary, but it always seems to be something that can be put off until tomorrow.

The demographics of the Boomer transition are not very encouraging for business sellers. We are rapidly approaching the worst imbalance between small business sellers and buyers in history, and it will continue for the next 20 years.