ExitReadiness® PODCAST: Exit Planning, Succession & Selling Your Business

A business that depends entirely on its owner's personality and relationships isn't truly transferable — no matter how strong the financials look. Sarah Goelitz, leadership consultant and founder of Sarah Goelitz Consulting, joins Pat and Walter to explore the connection between values-based leadership and transferable business value. When leaders build teams around shared values and clear principles, they create the management independence, cultural durability, and organizational depth that buyers pay for. Sarah explains how to make the shift — and why it matters far more than most owners realize.  

Guest: Sarah Goelitz, Founder, Sarah Goelitz Consulting
Connect with guest: sarahgoelitz.com

“We want you to help you build a business that is sellable and exit successfully on your own terms and conditions.” - Pat Ennis




Conversations that move you closer to a regret-proof exit.

Subscribe To The Channel By Clicking HERE!

Learn more about working with Pat and Walter at ennislp.com 
Connect with Pat: linkedin.com/in/pat-ennis-25b4a111/
Connect with Walter: linkedin.com/in/walter-deyhle-cpa-abv-cff-maff-cexp-cepa-57386614/

#PatEnnis #WalterDeyhle #ExitReadiness


DISCLAIMER: The information in this presentation is provided as education only. 
Neither the presenter nor ENNIS Legacy Partners is engaged to render legal, accounting, or other professional services. Consult a qualified professional for advice specific to your situation. ENNIS Legacy Partners assumes no legal liability for any loss related to information contained in this presentation.

Whether you're raising growth capital or preparing for an eventual exit, the financial discipline you build today determines the options you'll have tomorrow. In this episode, Pat and Walter dig into what sophisticated investors and acquirers actually look for when evaluating a privately held business — and where most owners fall short. From clean financials and accurate reporting to the metrics that signal a scalable, sustainable company, this conversation is a practical guide for any owner who wants to build a business that attracts capital and commands a premium at exit.

Guest: Jason Kruger
Connect with guest: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jason-kruger-a0b159b/


“We want you to help you build a business that is sellable and exit successfully on your own terms and conditions.” - Pat Ennis




Conversations that move you closer to a regret-proof exit.

Subscribe To The Channel By Clicking HERE!

Learn more about working with Pat and Walter at ennislp.com 
Connect with Pat: linkedin.com/in/pat-ennis-25b4a111/
Connect with Walter: linkedin.com/in/walter-deyhle-cpa-abv-cff-maff-cexp-cepa-57386614/

#PatEnnis #WalterDeyhle #ExitReadiness


DISCLAIMER: The information in this presentation is provided as education only. 
Neither the presenter nor ENNIS Legacy Partners is engaged to render legal, accounting, or other professional services. Consult a qualified professional for advice specific to your situation. ENNIS Legacy Partners assumes no legal liability for any loss related to information contained in this presentation.

Incentive compensation is one of the most powerful — and most misunderstood — tools a business owner has for retaining key employees, aligning performance, and building transferable value. Elizabeth Mower, former President of the Business Enterprise Institute (BEI) and founder of entreVector, brings deep expertise in exit planning and business enterprise systems to this conversation. Elizabeth and Pat explore what's changing in how owners think about and structure incentive plans, what works, what doesn't, and why getting this right matters enormously to the value of your business and the success of your eventual exit.  

Guest: Elizabeth Mower, Founder, entreVector | Former President, Business Enterprise Institute (BEI)
Connect with guest: linkedin.com/in/elizabethjmower/

“We want you to help you build a business that is sellable and exit successfully on your own terms and conditions.” - Pat Ennis




Conversations that move you closer to a regret-proof exit.

Subscribe To The Channel By Clicking HERE!

Learn more about working with Pat and Walter at ennislp.com 
Connect with Pat: linkedin.com/in/pat-ennis-25b4a111/
Connect with Walter: linkedin.com/in/walter-deyhle-cpa-abv-cff-maff-cexp-cepa-57386614/

#PatEnnis #WalterDeyhle #ExitReadiness


DISCLAIMER: The information in this presentation is provided as education only. 
Neither the presenter nor ENNIS Legacy Partners is engaged to render legal, accounting, or other professional services. Consult a qualified professional for advice specific to your situation. ENNIS Legacy Partners assumes no legal liability for any loss related to information contained in this presentation.

Customer concentration and customer dependency are well-known exit risks — but customer feedback may be the most overlooked value driver in a business owner's toolkit. Eli Portnoy, serial entrepreneur, Harvard Business School Executive Fellow, and founder of BackEngine, has achieved multiple successful exits totaling over $66 million in value. A self-described customer obsessive, Eli joins Pat and Walter to explain how staying systematically close to customer feedback drove the value of his businesses, how most companies lose that connection as they scale, and what owners can do to rebuild it — before a buyer finds the gap during due diligence.  

Guest: Eli Portnoy, Co-Founder & CEO, BackEngine | Harvard Business School Executive Fellow Connect with guest: linkedin.com/in/eliportnoy

“We want you to help you build a business that is sellable and exit successfully on your own terms and conditions.” - Pat Ennis

Conversations that move you closer to a regret-proof exit.

Subscribe To The Channel By Clicking HERE!

Learn more about working with Pat and Walter at ennislp.com 
Connect with Pat: linkedin.com/in/pat-ennis-25b4a111/
Connect with Walter: linkedin.com/in/walter-deyhle-cpa-abv-cff-maff-cexp-cepa-57386614/

#PatEnnis #WalterDeyhle #ExitReadiness


DISCLAIMER: The information in this presentation is provided as education only. 
Neither the presenter nor ENNIS Legacy Partners is engaged to render legal, accounting, or other professional services. Consult a qualified professional for advice specific to your situation. ENNIS Legacy Partners assumes no legal liability for any loss related to information contained in this presentation.

Empathy is often dismissed as a soft skill — but for employers who understand it, it's one of the most powerful tools for reducing litigation, improving retention, and building a business that runs well without the owner. Marc R. Engel, employment attorney at Lerch Early & Brewer and founder of the Employment Alliance Group, joins Pat and Walter to make the business case for empathy in the workplace. With 30+ years of experience helping employers navigate complex employment issues, Marc explains why the most empathetic employers are also the most legally protected — and why this matters directly to the transferable value of your business.  

Guest: Marc R. Engel, Esq., Shareholder, Lerch Early & Brewer | Founder, Employment Alliance Group
Connect with guest: lerchearly.com/attorneys/marc-r-engel/

“We want you to help you build a business that is sellable and exit successfully on your own terms and conditions.” - Pat Ennis

Conversations that move you closer to a regret-proof exit.

Subscribe To The Channel By Clicking HERE!

Learn more about working with Pat and Walter at ennislp.com 
Connect with Pat: linkedin.com/in/pat-ennis-25b4a111/
Connect with Walter: linkedin.com/in/walter-deyhle-cpa-abv-cff-maff-cexp-cepa-57386614/

#PatEnnis #WalterDeyhle #ExitReadiness


DISCLAIMER: The information in this presentation is provided as education only. 
Neither the presenter nor ENNIS Legacy Partners is engaged to render legal, accounting, or other professional services. Consult a qualified professional for advice specific to your situation. ENNIS Legacy Partners assumes no legal liability for any loss related to information contained in this presentation.

A cyber breach during a due diligence process can kill a deal — or dramatically reduce a purchase price. And yet cybersecurity is one of the most consistently overlooked exit planning topics for privately held business owners. Brian Guenther, CISSP, CCP and founder of Exceed Cybersecurity & I.T. Services in Frederick, Maryland, joins Pat and Walter to explain what cyber resilience actually means for a small or mid-sized business, what buyers are looking for during diligence, and the practical steps owners should take — well before they go to market — to protect both their business and the value of their eventual exit.  

Guest: Brian Guenther, CISSP, CCP, Founder & President, Exceed Cybersecurity & I.T. Services Connect with guest: exceeditmd.com

“We want you to help you build a business that is sellable and exit successfully on your own terms and conditions.” - Pat Ennis



Conversations that move you closer to a regret-proof exit.

Subscribe To The Channel By Clicking HERE!

Learn more about working with Pat and Walter at ennislp.com 
Connect with Pat: linkedin.com/in/pat-ennis-25b4a111/
Connect with Walter: linkedin.com/in/walter-deyhle-cpa-abv-cff-maff-cexp-cepa-57386614/

#PatEnnis #WalterDeyhle #ExitReadiness


DISCLAIMER: The information in this presentation is provided as education only. 
Neither the presenter nor ENNIS Legacy Partners is engaged to render legal, accounting, or other professional services. Consult a qualified professional for advice specific to your situation. ENNIS Legacy Partners assumes no legal liability for any loss related to information contained in this presentation.

There is no substitute for the perspective of someone who has actually been through it. Wayne Cates joins Pat and Walter for a candid, first-person account of selling his business — what he got right, what he wishes he had done differently, and the surprises that caught him off guard in the process. This is the kind of unfiltered conversation that only someone who has lived through a business sale can deliver, and it's packed with practical takeaways for any owner thinking about their own exit.  

Guest: Wayne Cates, Business Owner | Seller

“We want you to help you build a business that is sellable and exit successfully on your own terms and conditions.” - Pat Ennis




Conversations that move you closer to a regret-proof exit.

Subscribe To The Channel By Clicking HERE!

Learn more about working with Pat and Walter at ennislp.com 
Connect with Pat: linkedin.com/in/pat-ennis-25b4a111/
Connect with Walter: linkedin.com/in/walter-deyhle-cpa-abv-cff-maff-cexp-cepa-57386614/

#PatEnnis #WalterDeyhle #ExitReadiness


DISCLAIMER: The information in this presentation is provided as education only. 
Neither the presenter nor ENNIS Legacy Partners is engaged to render legal, accounting, or other professional services. Consult a qualified professional for advice specific to your situation. ENNIS Legacy Partners assumes no legal liability for any loss related to information contained in this presentation.

A podcast isn't just a marketing tool — when done right, it builds the kind of thought leadership, brand equity, and audience trust that makes a business more valuable and more transferable. Joe Ennis, founder of Podcasts By Joe and the production talent behind the ExitReadiness® Podcast, joins Pat to share how business owners can leverage podcasting to build authority in their niche, reduce owner dependency by making expertise scalable, and create content assets that live beyond any individual. A practical conversation about a channel most business owners are underleveraging.  

Guest: Joe Ennis, Producer, ExitReadiness® Podcast 

“We want you to help you build a business that is sellable and exit successfully on your own terms and conditions.” - Pat Ennis




Conversations that move you closer to a regret-proof exit.

Subscribe To The Channel By Clicking HERE!

Learn more about working with Pat and Walter at ennislp.com 
Connect with Pat: linkedin.com/in/pat-ennis-25b4a111/
Connect with Walter: linkedin.com/in/walter-deyhle-cpa-abv-cff-maff-cexp-cepa-57386614/

#PatEnnis #WalterDeyhle #ExitReadiness


DISCLAIMER: The information in this presentation is provided as education only. 
Neither the presenter nor ENNIS Legacy Partners is engaged to render legal, accounting, or other professional services. Consult a qualified professional for advice specific to your situation. ENNIS Legacy Partners assumes no legal liability for any loss related to information contained in this presentation.

Transferring a business to a key employee or family member sounds straightforward — until the legal complexities start surfacing. Paul Schwinn, Shareholder at Shulman Rogers and Co-Chair of its Startups and Emerging Growth Companies Practice Group, joins Pat and Walter to walk through the legal do's and don'ts of internal transactions. From deal structure and equity mechanics to the mistakes that derail these transitions at the last minute, Paul brings a business-minded legal perspective that every owner considering an insider transfer needs to hear before they get too far down the road.  

Guest: Paul M. Schwinn, Shareholder & Co-Chair, Startups and Emerging Growth Companies Practice Group, Shulman Rogers
Connect with guest: shulmanrogers.com/attorneys/paul-m-schwinn/

“We want you to help you build a business that is sellable and exit successfully on your own terms and conditions.” - Pat Ennis

Conversations that move you closer to a regret-proof exit.

Subscribe To The Channel By Clicking HERE!

Learn more about working with Pat and Walter at ennislp.com 
Connect with Pat: linkedin.com/in/pat-ennis-25b4a111/
Connect with Walter: linkedin.com/in/walter-deyhle-cpa-abv-cff-maff-cexp-cepa-57386614/

#PatEnnis #WalterDeyhle #ExitReadiness


DISCLAIMER: The information in this presentation is provided as education only. 
Neither the presenter nor ENNIS Legacy Partners is engaged to render legal, accounting, or other professional services. Consult a qualified professional for advice specific to your situation. ENNIS Legacy Partners assumes no legal liability for any loss related to information contained in this presentation.

ESOPs have long been the dominant employee ownership exit route in the U.S. — but a newer vehicle, the Employee Ownership Trust (EOT), is gaining serious traction as an alternative. Loren Rodgers, Executive Director of the National Center for Employee Ownership (NCEO) and one of the nation's foremost authorities on employee ownership, joins Pat and Walter to explain the key differences between ESOPs and EOTs, when each makes sense for a business owner, and what the growing interest in EOTs means for exit planning. A deep and essential conversation for any owner weighing an employee ownership exit.  

Guest: Loren Rodgers, Executive Director, National Center for Employee Ownership (NCEO) Connect with guest: nceo.org


“We want you to help you build a business that is sellable and exit successfully on your own terms and conditions.” - Pat Ennis



Conversations that move you closer to a regret-proof exit.

Subscribe To The Channel By Clicking HERE!

Learn more about working with Pat and Walter at ennislp.com 
Connect with Pat: linkedin.com/in/pat-ennis-25b4a111/
Connect with Walter: linkedin.com/in/walter-deyhle-cpa-abv-cff-maff-cexp-cepa-57386614/

#PatEnnis #WalterDeyhle #ExitReadiness


DISCLAIMER: The information in this presentation is provided as education only. 
Neither the presenter nor ENNIS Legacy Partners is engaged to render legal, accounting, or other professional services. Consult a qualified professional for advice specific to your situation. ENNIS Legacy Partners assumes no legal liability for any loss related to information contained in this presentation.