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by Colleen Kowalski on August 12, 2021
It’s back-to-school season. After a summer relaxing and unwinding in the sunshine, kids are heading back into the classroom, college students are returning to campus, and business professionals are…? Well… what are you doing to stay informed on the latest industry trends, information, and tips?
Just because you have been working in the exit planning industry for a while and have your college degree or degrees, it does not mean you are done learning. Invest in yourself this year by furthering your business succession planning education.
We have compiled a list of webinars, virtual and in-person events, credentialing programs, and books for you to expand your knowledge on exit planning and business strategy.
It’s time to head back to school!
Educational Programs for Professional Advisors
Attend Business Webinars
Get back into the education mindset by attending live business webinars or watching recorded versions. Webinars allow you to learn new information about business strategies, freshen up on tactics you currently follow, and network with professionals across a variety of industries. We have compiled a list of industry-leading webinars for you to view and attend.
Managing the Trickiest Parts of a Family Business – Harvard Business Review
Serving on any board is hard. But being a board member of a family-owned business is even harder. That’s because there can be conflicting agendas and taboos that family members want to avoid. Yet avoidance doesn’t work and can undermine a board’s effectiveness.
Learning to work through uncomfortable issues is one of the most important issues that family business boards face. Understand how best to work through these issues with two industry experts. Jennifer Pendergast is a professor of family enterprise and executive director of the Center for Family Enterprises at Kellogg School of Management. German Herrera is a partner at Egon Zehnder and co-leader of the global family business practice.
Scenario Planning – How to Prepare for Change and Build Resilience – BrightTALK
Join top financial leaders, as they discuss how businesses are using scenario planning models to work through short-term challenges and plan for an unpredictable future.
Learn why scenario planning is the best way to foster confidence with customers, reduce surprises internally, and ultimately build resilience.
Discovering Without Interrogating – Exit Planning Institute
The Value Acceleration Discovery process is crucial. Deep and authentic conversations with the owner and other stakeholders are required to surface “enriched” data that matters so much when plotting an effective value acceleration action plan. To succeed, the advisor must be a nuanced and clever interviewer who can stay in the present for long periods of time without relying on a questionnaire.
What interviewing techniques fully engage the owner? How can we get an owner to trust us when our relationship is just beginning? It turns out that neuroscience holds some of the answers. In this webinar, we will explore how to determine if you and the owner genuinely connect, for a more successful Discovery.
View all upcoming Exit Planning Institute Webinars!
Marketing For The Professional Advisor Masterclass
The EPI Marketing for the Professional Advisor Masterclass is a five-part on-demand masterclass that is broken down into interactive modules. This course takes all the knowledge and skills accumulated over nearly two decades in the branding, digital marketing, and business ownership industries and packages them all up into easily digestible content for you to consume and begin implementing immediately.
The topics covered include:
- Identifying, understanding, and finding your target audience
- Building your brand and core differentiators
- Creating valuable content that builds your business
- Business development tactics and KPIs
Register for the Marketing Masterclass and access your on-demand marketing education today!
Learn More about the Marketing Masterclass
Certified Exit Planning Advisor Credentialing Program
The Certified Exit Planning Advisor (CEPA) credential is for professional advisors who want to effectively engage more business owners. Exit Planning and the Value Acceleration Methodology helps owners can build more valuable companies, have stronger personal financial plans, and align their personal goals. Earning CEPA doesn’t change your expertise, it enhances your ability to engage business owners in conversations around growth and exit.
Earning CEPA is for those that want to:
- Differentiate yourself from the competition
- Gain better access to business owners
- Become more engaged on a business owner’s advisory team
- Have deeper and more holistic conversations with business owners
- Grow your referral network of professional advisors
- Access hundreds of marketing and business development tools tailored for owners
Catch Up on Business Succession Planning Content
A Look Inside the Unique World of Value Creation Whitepaper
EPI interviewed 13 Value Advisors within the Exit Planning Community to learn about Value Creation. We were interested to know their opinions on value creation and how they feel the value is created. Through these interviews, we learned more about their individual processes, what owners can expect in a value creation engagement, and how other advisors can stay involved in the value creation process.
What’s Next? – Plan For Your Next Act Before Selling Your Business
For many entrepreneurs, being a business owner is part of their identity. Many consider their business their life or at least a significant portion of it. Being an entrepreneur is not just a job, but a state of being. According to our 2019 Nebraska State of Owner Readiness Report, 41% of business owners have done “no planning at all” for their post-business life. Their only plan is to “retire.” But what does that retirement look like? Retirement is not simply golfing every morning. Will you participate in philanthropic efforts? Maybe you’ll start another business or become a consultant for other owners. Without a proper post-business plan, many business owners regret leaving their businesses. Don’t let that happen to you.
3 Tips to Improve Customer Loyalty in Your Business
We have all heard the saying, “The customer is always right.” While there are instances when that may not be the case, this saying is justified in every industry, in some capacity. As Chris Snider writes in Walking To Destiny, “Everything starts with the customer and getting a clear picture of that customer. In fact, how the business interacts with customers is more important than what it sells.” One of the most effective ways to build value in your business is through strong Customer Capital. Customer Capital is one of the four intangible capitals in every business.
Exit Planning Institute Recommended Exit Planning Books
Walking to Destiny: 11 Actions an Owner Must Take to Rapidly Grow Value and Unlock Wealth – Christopher Snider
Walking to Destiny is not only your essential resource to understand what makes your business attractive and ready for transition; it is a business owner’s handbook to know HOW TO rapidly grow value and ultimately unlock the personal wealth trapped in your most significant financial asset: Your Business.
The Valuemax Workbook – Peter Hickey
This Exit & Succession Planning Workbook is designed to educate business owners and business advisors on the exit and succession planning process and provide a clear yet comprehensive pathway. It is written from the business owner’s perspective.
Over 560-page color workbook that includes checklists and “step by Step” guides
Whether you, as the business owner, would like to build and sell your business or perhaps transfer ownership to a family member, this workbook will guide you on the best options to ensure the best possible outcomes.
Mergers & Acquisitions: An Insider’s Guide to the Purchase and Sale of Middle Market Business Interests – Dennis J. Roberts
The first book on Mergers & Acquisitions (M&A) to authoritatively convey the unique issues and circumstances of Middle-Market M&As-those companies valued between 5 million and 300 million with sales of 6 million to 600 million – Mergers & Acquisitions: An Insider’s Guide to the Purchase and Sale of Middle Market Business Interests addresses the many challenges, pitfalls, and difficulties inherent in transactions involving Middle Market businesses
Built to Sell: Creating a Business That Can Thrive Without You – John Warrillow
If you’re like most business owners, you started a company because you thought it would give you freedom—to do what you want, work on your own schedule, make the kind of money you deserve and eventually retire on the fruits of your labor.
Unfortunately, according to John Warrillow, most owners find that stepping out of the picture is extremely difficult because they’ve built a business that relies too heavily on their personal involvement. Without them, their company—no matter how big or profitable—is essentially worthless. Luckily, there are steps you can take—no matter what stage your business is in—to create a valuable, sellable company that can grow and thrive without you.
Selling an ESOP: Eleventh Edition – National Center for Employee Ownership
Selling to an ESOP – 11th Edition is a comprehensive guide for owners, managers, and advisors of closely held companies considering setting up an ESOP in order to buy part or all of the stock of the owner. The first half of the book describes how ESOPs work. Including basic considerations for selling to an ESOP, ranging from valuation to financing. The second half of the book focuses on the tax-deferred Section 1042 “rollover” that allows selling shareholders in closely held companies to indefinitely defer capital gains taxation on the proceeds from the sale to an ESOP. The 11th edition has been revised to tighten up the organization of the book and to reflect recent changes in law and practice.
Valuing a Business: The Analysis and Appraisal of Closely Held Companies – Shannon P. Pratt, Robert F Reilly, Robert P. Schweihs
For nearly two decades, and through three previous editions, Valuing a Business has provided trusted, complete business valuation for experienced business valuation analysts, beginning analysts and students, and all professionals needing complete valuation information. Its clear, concise explanations of valuation methods and conclusions have made it the classic text against which all other valuation books are measured.
Private Capital Markets: Valuation, Capitalization, and Transfer of Private Business Interests – Robert T. Slee
This theoretical and practical guide gives readers important insights into the workings of the private capital markets so that they can make sound investment and financing decisions.
Every Family’s Business: 12 Common Sense Questions to Protect Your Wealth – Thomas Deans, PhD
Every Family’s Business challenges the idea that successful family businesses must keep family issues and business issues separate. Tom believes this separation is impossible and that most family businesses are set up from the beginning to fail because they attempt it.
Visit the EPI Bookstore for more exit planning resources.
How will you educate yourself on the latest exit strategies, business value growth techniques, and marketing tips? Enjoy Back to School season and invest in your education this year!
