Blog
What Does Your Exit Map Look Like?
Most business owners have never exited their businesses before. Just like taking a big trip to a new place requires good planning to truly enjoy it, so too does a successful business exit. While the details will certainly differ based on your unique...
Logic vs. Legacy in Exit Planning
When planning for your eventual business exit, achieving financial security is the most important goal. But what happens when the emotional side of planning an exit—namely, ensuring your legacy—conflicts with that most important goal? Let’s look at a fictional but...
Which Calculated Risks Should You Consider?
Minimizing risks is a goal that many business owners have. But sometimes, there are instances where taking calculated risks becomes a necessity, especially when you are planning for your eventual business exit. Let’s look at three calculated risks that you may...
Pursuing Trends Vs. Using Fundamentals
Differentiating your business is an important element of growing it successfully. But how should you draw the line between pursuing the newest trends and sticking with the fundamentals? Let’s walk through a process that can help...
Don’t Be a Pest: Exiting With Grace
Letting go of the business you own may be one of the hardest things you’ll ever have to do. A key goal of Exit Planning is positioning you to exit on your terms. But even when an exit goes perfectly, some business owners remain drawn to...
The Power of The Sea
Standing at the edge of the Atlantic Ocean in Maine recently, I was reminded again of the ocean’s power, and that it doesn’t pause for our little lives, our successes or our failures. John Masefield wrote about the sea: “Sea-Fever” I must go down to the seas again, to...
How Involved Should You Be in Exit Planning?
A big hurdle that business owners struggle to get over when creating an Exit Plan is, “I don’t have enough time to do all that.” On its surface, it’s an intuitive argument. Planning for a business exit is indeed a lot of...
No Exit Plan? What’s the Worst That Can Happen?
When you’re running a successful business, creating a plan for your eventual exit may be the last thing on your mind. “I have way too many responsibilities for that right now.” “I’ll start thinking about that when I’m closer to...
Midwestern Stillness
“You didn’t build your business by accident – don’t leave it to chance.” Midwestern Stillness There’s a scene in every classic Western – the typical gunfight I remember from the movies about places like Abilene, Dodge City, and Tombstone, featuring gunfighters like...
David vs. Goliath
“Rocky Mountain High” (with apologies to John Denver). The Colorado Fourteeners near and around Vail, Colorado always, but always, bring amazement and unequaled beauty to those who visit. Standing at the base of those mountains, gazing up at their sheer size and...
The Missing Link: Business Continuity Instructions
Many business owners are missing a crucial link between their time as business owners and their time after owning their businesses. This missing link is called Business Continuity Instructions, and it could be the difference between the success and failure of...
What Stairs in California Taught Me About Business Planning
Climbing the Stairs While in California recently for a conference with way too many people in sweatpants thinking that climbing stairs (even on your hands) is fun, I found myself staring up the infamous Solana Beach steps, wondering if my knees were about to file a...
Defeating Boredom in Retirement
Many people have a romantic view of what retirement looks like. Beaches, cruises, road trips, sitting next to a pool with no responsibilities—in reality, many business owners struggle in retirement because they don’t know what to do with all their...
You Don’t Need to Do It Alone
There’s a mythology that business owners have all the answers all the time. Many business owners hold themselves up to this unachievable standard. Yet, nearly every business owner has moments when they say to themselves, “I have...
Securing Your Business & Key Employees With Vesting
Growing your business often relies both on your leadership skills and the ability of your employees to carry out your plans. As your business grows, it can become unwieldy to do everything by yourself. Having a strategy to keep your most important...
The Power of Dreaming
Dreaming is often the foundation of creating your ideal reality. For many business owners, their success started with a simple dream: "What if I could do things my way?" "What if I didn't have to report to a boss?" "What if I could give my family everything they ever...
3 Elements of Planning Success
Controlling the controllable and reducing the effects of the uncontrollable are prudent decisions for successful business owners. But how can you know which is which, and where can you go when confronted with a situation you've never experienced before in your...
How to Deal With Unexpected Changes
Unless you're the owner of a multi-billion- or trillion-dollar corporation, your business is likely subject to the whims of a changing marketplace. External changes in the market can sometimes force you to deal with problems you thought you'd never have to worry...
Where Do You Find Time for Planning?
One of the biggest sources of friction in planning for a successful future is time. Successful business owners like you aren’t sitting around, twiddling your thumbs, and wondering what to do with all this extra time you have. How can you, with everything else you have...
Rewiring, Not Retiring – The Next Chapter
For the past two years, I’ve been talking about my transition—moving from “retiring” to “rewiring.” Most people dream of retirement, only to find themselves asking, “What’s next?” I knew I wasn’t going to retire in the traditional sense; instead, I’m stepping into a...