Why We Plan

From our findings, about two-thirds of Exit Plans result in inside transfers as opposed to a third-party sale. We believe the reason for this is simply a lack of knowledge of ownership transfer options.

In this episode of Why We Plan, John Brown, Founder of BEI, and Elizabeth Mower, President of BEI, discuss their personal experiences working with business owners that primarily sell to their business-active children simply because they are unaware of any other options. We don’t believe that selling to your children is the wrong choice, we just want to make sure you are aware of the many other options you may have and make you aware of the decisions to consider when transferring ownership. Be sure to look at the total tax consequences and emotional consequences of each decision you may have while also maintaining the peace in the family. 

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In this episode of Why We Plan, John Brown, Founder of BEI and Elizabeth Mower, President of BEI discuss the importance of coming up with a contingency plan when the owner of a business unexpectedly dies.

As morbid as this topic might be, unfortunately we have to think about these kinds of situations. Elizabeth and John share their experiences of when an Exit Plan addressed planning for an unexpected death of an owner, but it was not properly executed due to ineffective communication to the owner’s family. Learn how to avoid these common mistakes and not add more stress to the families of a deceased business owner.

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John Brown, founder of BEI, interviewed Andrew Karlen, Business Attorney, at BEI’s National Conference last year. In this episode of Why We Plan, John and Andrew discuss the many challenges family-owned business attorneys must overcome during the exit planning process.

Working with family-owned businesses can be challenging because every family is different, numerous variables exist and conflicts can arise often. Andrew specializes in family business succession planning. He walks us through the intricacies of working as a business attorney for family-run businesses. One of the most difficult parts of working with a family-owned business from an attorney’s standpoint is it can be hard to decipher who specifically you represent within the family as well as within the organization. He uncovers how to manage those conversations with family members and gives valuable advise to those attorney’s or advisors who find themselves in similar dilemmas. 

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In this episode of Why We Plan, John Brown, founder of BEI, interviewed Gene Blanton, Vice Chairman and Chief Relationship Officer for Capital Works at BEI’s 2019 National Conference.

There are many important steps to take when it comes to exit planning but before one can even consider exiting, thorough analysis of a business’s capital and the business as a whole is required. Gene has helped businesses through the exit planning process by providing in-depth analysis, synthesis and strategy implementation. This deep-dive analysis can help businesses understand where they stand today and what steps they need to take to get where they want to go before they transition to other opportunities. 

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At BEI’s 2019 National Conference, John Brown, founder of BEI got the privileged to interviewed Christopher Goebel, President and Founder of Crossroad Advisers. In this episode of Why We Plan, John and Chris discuss the intricacies of selling your family-owned business.

Christopher once owned, managed and eventually sold his own family business back in 2008. He helped grow his parent’s mom & pop motor coach company into the 16th largest privately held bus companies in the country. He got to witness firsthand the many obstacles that arise when selling a family owned business. Chris explains how he now helps businesses evaluate their value and begin the steps towards exit planning. Chris highlights that one of the most complicated hurdles of exit planning is aligning what the owner’s goals are for the business and what is actually achievable.

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John Brown, founder of BEI and Elizabeth Mower, President of BEI talk about the common themes that resonated most frequently in their many conversations with advisors and business owners alike. The two most frequent challenges that arise in any exit plan are building value and building continuity.

The first few steps in managing a exit plan is to first build value in the company. A business must have the ability to create transferable value, or in other words, make sure the business will remain valuable apart from the owner. Business owners have a wealth of knowledge of the business and the industry. Making sure that knowledge is efficiently and effectively shared with the responsible key employees before the owner departs from the company is key to the success of that company.

This challenge goes hand in hand with the concept of building continuity within the organization. Unless business owners are confident that the company will be managed by the right people and with the right resources once they depart, an exit plan will not be successful.

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One of the most challenging part of working with business owners is getting them to act on the planning they know they need to do. They recognize that they need to plan for the eventual exit from their businesses, whether by death or by choice, but they keep putting off taking that initial step towards making a plan.

In this episode of Why We Plan, John Brown interviews David Jean during BEI's 2019 National Conference about diffusing owners concerns around Exit Planning so they are prepared. David focuses on the owners objectives, not just the transactional side of Exit Planning, so that he becomes the guide for the plan the owners want and need. This approach gives him a more effective way of helping business owners.

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There are many aspects about planning that business owners will resist. They may not be comfortable working with younger advisors. They might not understand new ideas. They might be skeptical about different strategies. Advisors can and must overcome each of these resistance points to best serve their clients, but how?

In this episode of Why We Plan, John Brown interviews Devin Langan, one of BEI’s youngest advisors, to find out how he overcomes common resistance point among advisors. Whether you’re just getting started with helping business owners plan for future success or have been doing it for years, Devin’s experience can show you new ways to overcome owner resistance to their essential Exit Planning.

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