Are you a business owner contemplating retirement? Thinking of selling or transitioning your business? Are you counting on your business to fund your retirement? Maybe you don t think that you have anything to sell? Here are some things you should know Did you know that up to 90% of business sales fail? Find out why. How does a glut of baby boomer business owners retiring affect a sale of your business? With a little work you may have more to sell than you think. We have The Solution for overcoming these roadblocks! Business Exit for Retirement Strategies November 2013
You re a business owner, you want to retire, now what? Chances are that you are a baby boomer business owner. First off, congratulations, your business has survived what seems like a never- ending economic downturn, and now you are thinking about retiring and reaping the fruits of your labors. Unfortunately, statistics show that it s a good bet that your retirement plan is lacking both the plan and the funds to actually retire, plus you don t have an exit plan for your business. Some key statistics Studies show that between 40% and 48% of business owners have no retirement savings; 65% to 85% of business owner net worth is tied up in one asset their business; 80% of business owners believe that the proceeds from the sale of their business are very or somewhat important to funding their retirement; Some good news, 96% of business owners say they need an exit plan for their business; But 87% do not have a written plan and 75% have no plan at all If you match up with many, or all, of these statistics, don t panic, we can assure you that there is a Solution, please read on. First, what are you going to do with your business when you retire? Business exit strategies fall into one of two categories, the first we ll call liquidation and the second a sales transaction. Liquidation works something like this, today you are earning a living, and tomorrow you aren t. Liquidation might include selling off some assets at an undervalued price, but generally speaking since there is no transaction, there is no cash that is derived from liquidation and therefore no contribution to your retirement assets. Also you need to consider that liquidation may not be as simple as just turning out the lights and walking away if you have employees and contractual commitments. A sales transaction can take various forms, selling to a family member, your employees, a vendor, a customer, some other third party, or on a grander scale even an IPO. A sales transaction generates cash or financial instruments that can be converted into cash like debt or stock. If you are like more than 80% of baby boomer business owners who are counting on selling their business to fund their retirement by now you re thinking that you like some version of the second category. Even if you fall into the 20% who have done effective retirement planning there is no reason to just turn out the lights and walk away, especially knowing that we are all living longer and that retirement assets are subject to economic risks as many learned during the last recession. In either case maximizing the value of your business can make you far more secure in your retirement.
Oh, and for those business owners who don t think there is any value in their business or practice because they have either been told that they are the business or that the business can t run without them, think again. With some advance planning and development you can build your business or practice into a valuable asset that you can sell. By now you re saying, Sign me up for the sales transaction option, how do I get started? But wait, That might be the easiest and most successful decision you ll make in your business sale retirement process, and here s why the failure rate for business sales approaches 90% in a number of surveys Yes, 9 out of 10 business sale processes don t result in a sale. Yikes! Now what?! Lets take a look at why the business sale failure rate is so high. On the top of the list of reasons for business sale failures is incorrect pricing and a closely associated second to pricing issues is inflexible deal structures. Why do those situations happen? Mainly because business owners fail to effectively plan for their sale and too many decide to take the For Sale by Owner approach. The other major contributing factor to business sale failure is time. Executing a business exit strategy takes time. Liquidation can last up to a year from making the exit decision to completion and other more complicated sales transaction can take up to five years from making the exit decision to deal completion. Did someone mention a Solution? Well, yes we did. You can overcome many if not all of the challenges associated with a retirement business sale with a four- part solution. Based on the statistics business sellers who are have not planned for their business to be sold, who have not prepared and taken steps to maximize their business value, and not worked with the right set of advisors are making some risky choices with their primary retirement asset at a time when their investment risk should be substantially lower. Our Solution - the right mixture of advisors, planning, execution, and packaging As a business owner, you need to be well prepared to make your business stand out from the other businesses that are for sale. Some have compared being prepared to staging your house for a sale or polishing a resume and interview skills to get a job. What happens if you aren t prepared to exit your business? Well, you may recall that between as many as 90% of attempted business sales fail and like in most things, failure is very costly. Are you in a position to afford a failed sale of your business?
Part 1 Advisors Too often we hear business owners say they don t need any more advisors, they have their CPA, a business lawyer, and they will hire a business broker when it comes time to sell their business. Believe me when I say we have nothing against any of those professionals, they re all an important part of the selling process, but it s likely that they aren t enough. When we ask business owners what their CPA does for them, they ll tell us that the CPA does their taxes, nothing more. Business brokers are intermediaries between buyers and sellers. The lawyers will make sure the legalities of a transaction are in order and the estate planning is done. Again, all these are important parts of the team, but in order to maximize the value of your business and what you get out of the sale, you need to fill out the team. A complete team for a retiring business owner planning to sell a business needs to include a business advisor who can guide the planning process with a focus on maximizing the value of the business, and when the time is right, make the preparations for the business to be sold. Part 2 Planning Business performance success begins with solid planning; the same is true for business exit success. Business exit strategy should be incorporated into business planning as early as possible. Some say exit planning should happen as soon as you start your business. While that may not be realistic, it is true that it is never too early start, but it can definitely be too late. What if I want to sell, but I haven t been planning for it? Not to worry, we see this happen. You can t go back and re do what was not done, but you can do the next best thing, start now. Remember it takes time to get a transaction done, in some cases as long as 3 to 5 years, so we use that time to maximize your exit process. The quote, "plan for the worst but expect the best" applies equally to individuals and business. Businesses and business owners need to be prepared for unexpected life events like disability, death, divorce, a downturn in economy as well as the impact of any of these events on spouses and families. The value of having a solid plan in place before life happens is as the commercial says, priceless. Whether you are selling your business, transferring ownership, seeking retirement, or facing a "forced- exit" such as bankruptcy or liquidation - planning your exit is a big undertaking that has implications for your estate, retirement accounts, employees, business structure, assets, and contractual obligations, not to mention tax and legal matters. Part 3 - Execution With your exit strategy integrated into your strategic plan it s time to execute your plan. What does executing the plan mean? Strategic plans are not meant to be pretty binders that get placed on the shelf only to be dusted off a few years later for an update. The plan we guide you to
develop is actionable, measurable and flexible. Executing the plan is living the plan. Your strategic plan includes real actions that will improve the profitability and value of your business. Everything is measurable so we can always tell if you are on course to achieve your goals. If circumstances dictate a change of course, we can handle that because we know where you want to get to and where you are. If the plan needs an adjustment we guide you through that and repeat the process. Part 4 - Packaging The final part of the Solution is packaging. What is packaging? Packaging is what makes your business stand out when it s time to get your business sold. Custom packaging is an important marketing tool that is all about catching the eye of the targeted buyer and drawing them in. Most business owners believe that the business itself will be enough to convince a business buyer to choose their company to buy, but that isn t enough. With so many baby boomers retiring over the next 12 to 15 years there will be a glut of businesses for sale and fewer possible buyers. Add the retirement of baby boomer employees to the mix and business owners are facing business value erosion as their talent retires along with them. The way that you present your business can make it stand out from other businesses on the market and make a world of difference to your exit process. Our packaging approach includes evaluating current business value, strategically planning the selling process, development of appropriate selling materials and documents including your company sale briefing, financial statement presentation, business analysis and preparation for due diligence. We work with you and your other advisors throughout the sales process to ensure that the selling experience goes as smoothly for you and your buyer. A difficult deal process is costly for both sides and buyers will want to do the deal that makes the most sense and has the fewest challenges. Our Solution Supports your Goals
Your Result - - A Successful Exit You ve worked with your advisors, planned, executed, and packaged your final product offering, your business. Now, the transaction is done! The result, you ve maximized the return on the financial investments, the risks, and the time you put in to build your successful business. Now it s time to turn your attention to your next adventure, your retirement. Enjoy! About Business Renewal Partners Business Renewal Partners is a business advisory and consulting firm that helps owners and management of national and international companies achieve their business goals. Many of our clients are referred to us by business professionals such as CPAs, lawyers, bankers, financial planners, investors, and payroll and HR firms. These professionals know us and trust us and they recognize that our experience and skills can make enormous contributions to the value and success of their clients businesses. Our team of business professionals has extensive hands- on senior management experience with roots in many fields, including strategic management, finance and accounting, operations, sales and marketing, human resources, and information technology. We ve lead organizations ranging from small businesses to multinational firms through the same challenges that our clients face every day. We ll carefully assess your business, resolving complex systematic business issues through big picture and brass tacks analysis, strategic planning, careful management, and consistent measurement. Whether we are identifying areas for sales growth, increasing capitalization, planning for a business sale, reducing costs and restructuring debt, creating programs that effectively motivate employees, finding creative ways to expand sales and distribution channels, or helping your business grow in other ways, our ultimate goal is your business s profitability and value. To find out how we can help you achieve your business vision, call 443.569.3066 or email info@businessrenewalpartners.com.