Business owners seeking to exit their business often spend a great deal of time preparing the financial side of the exit. They focus on valuation, timing, tax strategy, and deal structure. One of the biggest factors in a successful transition is often the least discussed: What is their personal plan after the exit?
That is the main focus of the newest Mastering the Market collection from the Exit Planning Institute® (EPI). Mastering the Market: Personal Planning examines the personal side of exit planning and why it deserves greater attention from advisors and business owners alike.
It challenges advisors and their business-owner clients to look beyond the transaction and consider the deeper questions that shape every meaningful transition.
What is Personal Planning?
A personal plan is crucial to crafting a successful exit for a business owner. Through the Value Acceleration Methodology™ (VAM), advisors work with business owners to align the Three Legs of the Stool: Business, Financial, and Personal.
While personal planning is an important part of the methodology, it often lags behind the other two legs of the stool.
This is a mistake that can be costly. A misaligned personal leg of the stool is a major reason why 75% of business owners regret selling their company within a year of exiting. It’s not because of the terms of the deal, but because business owners lack a sense of purpose or a vision of what their lives will look like post-exit.
In his piece in Mastering the Market, EPI President Scott Snider challenges advisors and business owners to shift their mindset and place personal planning on the same level as business and financial planning.
“Personal planning doesn’t compete with business and financial planning. It accelerates them,” he says.
The Freedom Flywheel
In her contribution, Cara Gray, a Certified Exit Planning Advisor (CEPA®), founder of Good Morning Freedom, and co-founder of OptionBuilt™ Collective, expands on this idea with her Freedom Flywheel.
“When an owner becomes clear about their personal priorities, that clarity informs business decisions,” she says. “Better business decisions often improve performance and enterprise value. Increased enterprise value enhances personal wealth. Greater personal wealth can create more options and flexibility, reinforcing the owner’s sense of freedom.”
That connection is what makes this edition especially relevant to advisors. It gives them a way to start better conversations with clients that go beyond numbers to purpose and identity. It also reinforces the idea that when owners understand who they are beyond their company, they are better prepared to transition with confidence.
Meet the Contributors
In addition to Scott Snider and Cara, this edition of Mastering the Market features insights from Chris Hare, Andrew Williams, CEPA, Scott Richards, and Susan Latremoille, CEPA.
These personal planning experts share their perspectives on how a personal plan can help drive value into a business. Together, their contributions reinforce the idea that, when business owners understand who they are beyond their business, they are better prepared to transition with confidence.
Download Mastering the Market: Personal Planning
If you work with business owners, the fourth collection of Mastering the Market offers practical insights on the personal leg of the stool and a reminder that the best transitions are those that support both value and vision.
To read the full collection and previous editions of Mastering the Market, click here, or fill out the download form below.
About the Value Acceleration Methodology™
The Value Acceleration Methodology™ is the strategic framework for executing exit planning, creating value for the business owner’s company while aligning their business, personal, and financial goals. The Value Acceleration Methodology guides the Certified Exit Planning Advisor and Business Owner through three gates (Discover, Prepare, and Decide) with the ultimate goal to move to advanced value creation or to exit the business.
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