What is The Business Owner’s Dilemma?

Meet Exit Planning Summit Power Session Speaker – Ali Nasser

Power Sessions offer the Exit Planning Summit attendees the opportunity to hear presenters challenge the status quo and offer new ideas to professional advisors. In the past, exit planning was seen as a transactional service: an advisor helping an owner sell their business. Our community of advisors, industry experts, and business owners have challenged that idea and have since grown exit planning, and advisory practices in general, to a more transformational experience.

These Power Sessions are similar to a TED Talk and provide the audience with a thought-provoking, inspiring, and motivational experience that transforms the way we think and provides actionable education and insights. 

Summit attendees will hear from experts who represent Experiences, People, and Innovation. Three elements are needed to be a top advisor in the exit planning space.

One of these experts is Ali Nasser, who will speak to the People and Innovation categories. 

Who is Ali Nasser?

Ali Nasser is a passionate entrepreneur, author, communicator, and life enthusiast. He loves connecting with business owners and enhancing intentionality to help them find their best path forward.

His mission is to help owners gain ‘better perspective’ so they can make ‘better decisions.’

About Ali’s Power Session

Too many entrepreneurs aren’t enjoying the success they’ve earned.

The pressure of continuing growth while also planning their existing success leaves most owners overwhelmed.

After serving as a guide and partner to some of the world’s most successful business owners for nearly twenty years, Ali Nasser identified three critical dilemmas challenging their minds:

1. The Re-Investment Dilemma™: How do I re-invest my success?

2. The Legacy Dilemma™: What is it all for?

3. The Exit Dilemma™: What is my best exit strategy?

The Business Owner’s Dilemma will help you:

  • Gain clarity over your dilemmas.
  • Learn a simple and powerful design to approach all aspects of entrepreneurial wealth.
  • Take control and decide on a path to capture your life’s work.

What was the inspiration for your book, The Business Owner’s Dilemma?

Ali: About seven to ten years ago, I had a series of engagements with owners who had exited their companies for large profits. Amidst the financial freedom, they were overwhelmed with the challenges that came after and lacked personal fulfillment post-business. The best example I can give of this is mountain climbing. When you’re climbing a mountain, what is the goal? Most people would say, “To get to the top.” In reality, the goal is to get to the top and to get back down safely so you can enjoy success.

These business owners had a plan for growth, but they didn’t have a plan for what came after. It made me hyper-aware that wealth is a means, not an end, and in order to be able to enjoy your success, it’s important to begin with the end in mind. This is when I realized that I needed to take the framework that I used with my clients, the Wealth Integration System for Entrepreneurs™ (WISE™), and make it available to all business owners. This powerful and proprietary framework reveals how all business owners can integrate business, wealth, and life decisions to create the outcomes they truly desire.

What mindset shift do owners need to make when thinking about business value?

Ali: Owners must understand the difference between their business enterprise value and their net proceeds. I used to advise professional football players. In their head, they were thinking, “I have a $5 million contract,” but in reality, that worked out to $700 thousand a year for three years. There are taxes, fees, and charges associated with this salary. This reminds me of business owners who say “I have a $50 million company.” But they are $25 million in debt, they have a partner who owns half the shares, and they have various taxes to pay on the proceeds. Ultimately, they end up with less than $10 million. This difference can be a huge shock to those who are not aware of it. 

What is one thing you want our Summit attendees to take away from your Power Session?

Ali: Planning for entrepreneurs is not just wealth planning. It takes a different approach to manage an entrepreneur’s value. There is often a life decision that comes along with a wealth decision. If you do not know the approach, you miss out on the opportunity to build value for them. Business owners view the world, investments, and financial planning through a different lens. 

My session will highlight the differences between what the advisor is thinking and what an owner wants. Ultimately, it is not about you as the advisor, but about the owner’s end goal. 

What interested you in the 2022 Exit Planning Summit?

Ali: I am very excited to collaborate with other professionals that share a passion for helping business owners. I have always found the most value to be in the conversations in-between and around the content. 

Other than your Power Session, what are you most looking forward to at the Summit?

Ali: I am looking forward to hearing Gino Wickman’s keynote address. Gino is a good friend and I appreciate his work and expertise. 

The 2022 Exit Planning Summit

We are excited to welcome hundreds of Certified Exit Planning Advisors and other exit planning professionals to Scottsdale, Arizona Sunday, May 1 – Tuesday, May 3, 2022, for our Exit Planning Summit. This conference is where top advisors, their teams, and business owners come to build deep relationships, share unique experiences, and uncover innovative solutions for their business.

The Exit Planning Summit is the coming together of the CEPA Community. The best CEPAs from around the world collaborate with their supporting partners and colleagues that are all helping business owners to create more significant companies. CEPAs will develop new or further current relationships, learn best practices, and advance themselves as advisors. Advisors will leave the Exit Planning Summit not only galvanized to accelerate their practice but with the tools and connections to do so.  

Learn more about the Exit Planning Summit and register to reserve your spot today!

Register for the Exit Planning Summit!