Some people are very good at shopping for holiday gifts. They have lists for each member of their family to make sure they don’t forget anyone and buy or make the best presents. Unfortunately, as good as they are at buying the presents, they are equally as bad at wrapping them. We all know at least one person who buys the best gifts just to throw it in a used giftbag with one crumpled piece of tissue paper tossed gingerly on top. No matter how good your gift is on the inside, the packaging is still important. You wouldn’t want an expensive present to break simply because it fell out of its brown paper bag onto the icy ground.
As a business owner, you are good at managing your business, you know what assets provide you with the most value, and you know that eventually you would like to exit your business and make a nice profit from the transition. However, you have no idea how to successfully transition from your business or what is needed to get the profit you desire from the sale. Like shopping for holiday gifts, you know exactly what you would like, you just have no clue how to package it nicely. That is where a CEPA (Certified Exit Planning Advisor) comes in. A CEPA is responsible for taking your business and putting a nice bow on it.
As a business owner, you are responsible for maintaining business value, along with every other aspect of your business. To be prepared for an eventual transition from the business, you must incorporate exit strategy practices into your daily business operations. A CEPA assists in the integration of the Value Maturity Index and the Value Acceleration Methodology into your business planning.
The Value Acceleration Methodology begins with what we call “The Triggering Event”. The Triggering Event provides a baseline measurement of value going forward, which is needed for business planning, tax and estate planning, and personal planning. During this stage, you discover things about your business and your personal aspirations that were not previously evident: like potential wealth you may be leaving on the table, unknown risks, and opportunities to grow value.
A CEPA uses all of this information to provide you with clarity on your exit options and prepares you for your eventual exit. Even if you are not planning on exiting your business at this time, you still have a list of actions that, if implemented, will make your business perform better without you.
No one will want to purchase your business if it is wrapped like a car ran over it. Utilizing the Value Acceleration Methodology, a CEPA turns your business into a beautifully valuable package with a bow on top.