September brings the return of football—and with it, familiar conversations about teams, preparation, execution, and the pursuit. Those same ideas offer a useful framework for thinking about exit planning. of the end zone
Every business owner will eventually leave their business. However, owners differ significantly in how prepared they are for that transition. Some have not yet entered the game, while others are practicing, moving the ball down the field, or approaching the end zone.
The important question is not whether you are ready to sell or transition your ownership. It is: Where are you on the exit planning field, and what must happen to move you forward?
Watching From the Sidelines
Some owners are not actively engaged in exit planning. They may recognize that a transition willr, but they have not set goals, assessed the company’s value, or assembled an advisory team. eventually occu
Common thoughts at this stage include:
The greatest risk of remaining on the sidelines is that circumstances may force the owner into the game before they are prepared. Health concerns, economic changes, industry disruption, family circumstances, or an unexpected offer can suddenly accelerate the timetable.
Exit planning is not simply preparing to sell or transition the ownership. It is preparing the owner and the business for whatever comes next.
Stepping Onto the Practice Field
The practice field is where an owner begins preparing without committing to an immediate transaction.
At this stage, the owner starts clarifying personal, financial, and business goals. Questions may include:
This is also where the owner begins assembling the right players. The advisory team may include a business valuation professional, wealth advisor, CPA, attorney, insurance professional, business consultant, and investment banker or business broker.
Each player brings a different skill set. The strongest teams understand their individual assignments, communicate with one another, and work from the same playbook.
Taking the Field
Once the owner has established goals and understands the company’s current position, the team can begin executing the plan.
This phase often includes reducing owner dependence, strengthening management, improving financial reporting, diversifying customers, documenting processes, addressing legal or tax issues, and building sustainable cash flow.
Progress is rarely made through one dramatic play. It usually comes from a series of well-executed first downs.
A valuation can serve as the scoreboard. It provides an objective starting point, identifies factors influencing value, and helps measure whether the owner’s improvement efforts are producing results. Periodic valuation updates allow the advisory team to adjust the strategy as the business and the owner’s goals change.
Entering the Red Zone
As the anticipated transition draws closer, planning becomes more specific. The owner may begin evaluating potential buyers, successors, transaction structures, tax consequences, financing alternatives, and post-exit plans.
This is the red zone: the objective is within reach, but execution matters more than ever. Decisions made here can affect the amount the owner ultimately receives, the taxes paid, the company’s future, the employees, and the owner’s life after the transition.
A coordinated advisory team is especially valuable at this stage. If the players work independently, they can miss important details. An attractive price may produce an unfavorable after-tax result. A financially sound transaction may fail to meet the owner’s family or legacy goals. A promising internal successor may not yet have the leadership ability or financing needed to complete the transition.
The entire team must understand what defines a successful outcome for the owner.
Reaching the End Zone
The end zone is not simply the closing of a sale. It is completing a transition that accomplishes the owner’s business, financial, personal, and legacy objectives.
For one owner, that may mean selling to a third party and retiring. For another, it may involve transferring ownership to family members, selling to employees or management, recapitalizing the company, or gradually reducing day-to-day responsibilities while retaining ownership.
The best outcome is not necessarily the transaction with the highest headline price. It is the transition that best aligns with what matters most to the owner.
You Are the Team Owner
Your advisors may be the players, but it is your team. You set the goals, select the players, and define what victory looks like.
You do not need to know every detail before starting. You simply need to identify your current position and take the next step. That could mean starting a conversation, completing a readiness assessment, obtaining a business valuation, or convening your advisors around a coordinated plan.
Football games are often won long before the team reaches the end zone—through preparation, disciplined execution, communication, and the ability to adjust when conditions change.
Business transitions are much the same.
Where are you on the exit-planning field—and do you have the right players in position to help you reach the end zone?