Why We Plan

Why We Plan

By John BrownBusiness
Download on the App Store

Why We Plan episodes

  • The Longer Owners Delay, The Less Options They Have
    Planning for the inevitable exit of one’s business takes times. The earlier you can start these strategic conversations with your business owner clients, the more options they will have. John Brown interviews Tom Bayer, Partner at Sikich, on the timeline of a typical exit strategy. Tom explains how he has evolved his practice to get in front of his clients and prospects as early as possible to at least get his business owner clients thinking about their future.
    24 min
  • Know Your Target Audience
    Sometimes traditional marketing tactics simply don’t work. But once you understand your target audience and what they are most interested in, it becomes significantly easier to create engaging content for them. John Brown interviews Laurie Barkman, Founder and CEO of SmallDotBig, on some of Laurie’s out-of-the-box marketing techniques that have allowed her to get in front of the right audience more efficiently and grow her business significantly. Whether you are an advisor looking to expand your strategy for staying in front of clients, or a business owner looking to diversify your customer based, Laurie’s insights can be applied to your business to achieve your goals.
    28 min
  • Two Sides of The Same Coin: Mitigate Risk vs Building Value
    Variables that most commonly affect the risk of a sale can include incentivizing key employees, industry or market changes, inefficient operation systems, and the diversity of the customer base. Work with your clients to uncover just where they might be at risk and areas you can help improve their business value. The work that you put in today will greatly impact the chances of a seamless exit for your clients down the road.
    17 min
  • Create a Partnership for Life
    When working with business owners, you are not only helping them plan for their future, you are building a life-long relationship. Connect with your clients on a personal level before you rush into the planning process. Ask them personal, thought-provoking questions during your initial meeting. You may find out something about the business that will help with your planning process that you may never have known if you didn’t sit down and really get to know your client and their business.
    In this condensed podcast, John Brown, Founder of BEI, and Elizabeth Mower, President of BEI, discuss the importance of building strong relationships with your business owner clients. These business owners are putting their entire futures in your hands. You want to ensure them that they can trust you.
    16 min
  • Provide More Value to Your Clients
    John Brown, Founder of BEI, interviews Mark Flenniken, Owner of Omega7 Exit Planning Firm & Senior Advisor at Clayton Capital Partners, at the BEI National Conference. Mark explains how he has found a way to add even more value to the services he already offers his clients.
    Mark’s background is in insurance, and he works closely with Property and Casualty Agencies. Mark explains how he was able to enhance his practice by offering his clients more than just his insurance expertise. Because life insurance is commoditized, what sets Mark apart from other insurance professionals is his Exit Planning expertise. Word spreads fast when you can offer a service that is above and beyond what your competitors are offering.
    19 min
  • The Arrival of the Silver Tsunami
    In this podcast, Elizabeth Mower, President of BEI, interviews Michael Beck, Executive Coach and Strategist with Eliciting Excellence, on the topic of the upcoming boom of Exit Planning industry.
    Michael explains that there is a “silver tsunami” coming of the baby boomers getting ready to retire. Michael goes into detail of what to expect and how to prepare for this explosion of new business for advisors.
    31 min
  • Protecting Your Clients from Their Own Bad Decisions
    Elizabeth Mower and John Brown discuss one of John’s earliest business planning cases he was involved in. John reminisces about the awful experience he had that almost cost him his career.
    John had come up with a perfect plan for this client, but after he sent out the paperwork his client wanted to make some changes that John did not agree with. The client wanted to give stock to his business active daughter, even if it meant he would lose all control of the business. In the end, the client’s daughter ended up firing the original owner to invest his salary back into the business. Tune in to learn how John was able to fix this dilemma for his client and how he learned to avoid issues like this all together.
    19 min
  • Friction Among Family Members
    In this episode of Why We Plan, Elizabeth Mower, President of BEI, and John Brown, Founder of BEI discuss how an advisor came to them with a business owner client whose family was in complete disarray. The owner’s goals were misaligned with his family’s goals and in turn, the Exit Plan they were creating was falling apart. Communication is key and in this episode we learn to incorporate all parties in the planning process including spouses, in-laws, and business active and unactive children.
    26 min
  • When Children Are Not Interested in the Family Business
    John Brown, Founder of BEI, interviews Jay Edwards, Principal at Granite Financial Partners, at the 2019 BEI National Conference. Jay describes how he got into the Exit Planning business and his experience working primarily with multi-generational family businesses. He utilizes the BEI tools to help his clients reach their goals and successfully exit the market.
    25 min
  • What is Transferable Value?

    Growing business value is one of the most important things a business owner can do for their business. When a business owner goes to sell their business, the first thing a potential buyer is going to examine is the value of the business. Your responsibility as an advisor is to help increase the transferable value of the business. Transferable value is the value of the business even after the owner leaves the business. Profit does not equal transferable value, especially if most of the business value resides with the departing owner. Business owners must understand how to create and maintain transferable value for the business before they depart.


    In this episode of Why We Plan, John Brown, Founder of BEI, and Elizabeth Mower, President of BEI, discuss their personal experiences with clients impending need to increase business value. John describes a situation where a business owner was trying to sell their business for about five million dollars. He has about 25 contractors and no management team. With this information, John knew that this company would be worth nothing without the owner. Find out how he knew and learn how to help your clients avoid situations like this. 


    See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

    24 min

About Why We Plan

From the publisher's feed

A podcast for advisors to business owners who want to help their clients plan for a successful future, both inside and outside the business. We discuss topics including succession planning, exit…