Business Owner's Guide to Business Valuation and Exit

Planning For Exit

If you’re planning to exit, a business valuation offers an objective assessment of your company's worth, crucial for realistic pricing and negotiation. It reveals financial health, market position, and improvement areas, allowing strategic value enhancement for an optimal sale price.

Without proper valuation, you risk undervaluing your business or overpricing it, deterring buyers. You might also miss critical issues, leading to deal-breaking surprises during due diligence. An accurate valuation mitigates these risks, ensuring a successful exit.

Planning for exit? Meet with us.

Succession Planning

Accurate business valuation is crucial for succession planning. It ensures fair ownership transfers (family, partners, employees), aids in buy-sell agreements, timing, and tax planning, ensuring a smooth transition that preserves value and legacy.

Failing to value properly risks over/undervaluation, leading to disputes, unfair transfers, or financial losses. Overestimation delays buyers; underestimation results in insufficient compensation. Without a solid valuation, you miss chances to optimize the transfer, increase tax efficiency, or address issues threatening business continuity during succession.

Planning for succession? Meet with us.

Estate Planning

Accurate business valuation is crucial for estate planning. It clarifies business asset worth, enabling effective wealth transfer to heirs with minimal tax. Proper valuation aids in determining gifts, trusts, and managing estate taxes, safeguarding your legacy for future generations.

Conversely, neglecting proper valuation poses risks. Over/underestimation can lead to inefficient tax planning or liabilities. Overvaluation results in higher estate taxes, while undervaluation can cause insufficient transfers or heir disputes. Inaccurate valuation jeopardizes estate plan effectiveness, risking delays, increased taxes, or wealth loss.

Need an estate plan or evaluating an existing plan? Meet with us.

Curious About My Value

Regularly valuing your business—every 1 to 3 years or after major changes—provides up-to-date insight for informed decision-making and strategic planning.

Without knowing your business’s value, you might undervalue it during a sale or transfer, resulting in a financial loss. Overestimating can hinder sales or attract unfavorable offers. You risk overpaying taxes, missing growth opportunities, or surprises during estate planning or succession, leading to costly disputes and lost wealth. In all cases, not knowing your true business worth will jeopardize your financial stability and long-term planning efforts.

Want to know the value of your business? Meet with us.

The Cost of Fragmentation

If you’re a business owner, fragmentation in the financial services industry is costing you in ways you probably don’t recognize.

You probably have a CPA, a financial planner, banker, etc. that you talk to from time to time, but when was the last time they talked to each other?

In the process of selling your business, uncoordinated efforts between brokers, attorneys, bankers, accountants, and valuation experts are highly inefficient. Each operates in their silo, leading to miscommunication, duplicated efforts, missed opportunities, and costly delays that will dramatically diminish your return on investment.

There is a better way.

Set Up a Meeting

Let's talk about your goals, your challenges, and identify areas for improvement. If there is a fit, we can execute a no-cost assessment that could have a significant impact on your financial future.

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