Perhaps our biggest takeaway is a shift from Boomer owners who often have a singular passion for their business to Gen X, Millennials, and Gen Z who often see their business as one of many life passions.

What could this generational shift in private business ownership mean for your business?

How prepared are you for the future state of your business? How ready is your business to transfer to a new owner? Regardless of the option that best suits you and your business, you’ll likely need to spend a lot of time seeking out information and guidance on the process. When the initial study was done in 2013, less than 40% of all owners surveyed said that they had an understanding of their exit options. In 2023, that number rose to 70%.

Many of the brightest visionaries and business owners I know have gotten to where they are on pure grit, intuition, and hard work. However, the time comes when they are ready to reach even higher heights, and leveraging data into information can supercharge the journey. 

Shifting from collecting under explored data to arming you and your business with this predictive information empowers you to tweak your business operations in real-time rather than waiting for next month to see your financial results or worse yet never doing this analysis in the first place.

You’ve accomplished everything you set out to do; probably more. Now you’re ready to exit the business you’ve built from the ground up,

After reviewing your options, you’ve determined the best decision is to run a formal sale process to fetch the best offer for your company. Under this scenario, for a variety of reasons more than ever before, your most likely buyer will be a “financial buyer”. Let me tell you who this buyer is, and what they are looking for in your business.

Do you know what your business is worth? As an owner, you might have an idea in your head about what it could or should be worth. Maybe your competitor recently sold their business, and you heard how much it sold for. Perhaps you have done some tax planning. You may have even been approached about selling your business or even received an offer. Whether you're considering selling your business, seeking investment, or simply want to understand its worth, a “limited business valuation” can be a tremendous resource.

The intention during our Exit Audit is to learn the story of your business over the course of interviewing those that built it or have become essential in running it.

Hearing the stories of how it came to be, the factors that cause customers to remain loyal, and the plans for the future.

How did you get to where you are today and how will you reach those future goals you have plans for? That’s what we get to discuss.

The interview portion isn’t an interrogation, it’s a conversation. A conversation that allows us to paint a vibrant picture of your company and its potential.

So much of the value in your business is built on the qualitative data we learn about in the interviews.

If you’re frustrated about scaling beyond what you can personally do or wanting to take a vacation without worrying about the plant burning down while you’re gone, or simply want to leave at 3 to coach your child’s sports team? How do you build a team that shoulders the load with the same discipline and accountability that you bring to the table?

Running a business is a wholly immersive experience, where each and every day presents new challenges and obstacles to overcome. As a business owner, you often develop tunnel vision, focusing solely on internal operations. But at certain moments you may be forced to reckon with external factors, like presidential elections.

You run a business. You’re self-made. You’ve made tough decisions, you’ve taken risks. It hurts to consider the idea of allowing some investor off the street to step into your shoes as owner; someone with no previous history with your customers, your employees, your vendors, your products & services. It just feels wrong.

Creating a thriving company culture is not done overnight, in a week, or even in a single month. It’s created over time, with intentional investment from company leadership, and a commitment to keeping it top of mind each and every day.

Jon Coleman writes, “Workplaces that have a deep sense of mission and values with which we can align are more engaging and joyful to work for.”

As you read that quote, do you have a solidified mission and values that come to mind for your company? Are your company values clear, concise and communicated through the entire organization?

If not, it's time to roll up those sleeves. When everyone's on the same page, decisions become easier, hires become more aligned, and the whole company moves forward with purpose.

You know the days where you’re constantly spinning your wheels? By the end of the day nothing is solved, but you’re exhausted. Your “issues” pile keeps growing as problems are coming in faster than you can find solutions. The brute force method worked when you started your business. But two things have happened. Your business has grown and you’ve gotten older. You cannot keep up the pace anymore. And you’ve earned the right to slow down and enjoy what you’ve built.

The answer is simple, and even a little boring – Systems.

Remember that incredible business trip you took to Italy last year? No doubt, it was a work trip. You did indeed conduct business. But just between us, did you need to try all the wines with your clients that day? Did you need to go for two full weeks instead of three business days? No criticism implied; the ability to expense things is one of the great perks of owning a business. But when you’re ready to exit your business, suddenly all these extra expenses can work against you. That’s because the valuation of your company is based on a key metric many people have never heard of: your EBITDA.

Starting small now will inevitably lead to exponential changes in the value of your business in the future. Warren Buffett did not wake up in his 50s and decide he would be rich. He started making small decisions as a young boy and these accumulated into his financial success in his 50s. An Exit Audit creates a road map of the things you can start doing today, without interrupting everything you’ve got going on.

“What gets celebrated gets reproduced.” These words given to me early in my career by a mentor have stuck with me. He meant that our employees, and all humans for that matter, move towards what feels good. And it feels good to be celebrated. Meaning that inevitably our employees will continue to reproduce - consciously or not - that which we celebrate.

Do you ever have days where it feels like you struggle to finish anything? You have a mountain of work to get through, but you cannot find the motivation to get started?

As a business owner do you feel like you’re on an island? You’ve built your business with blood, sweat, tears, and long hours … Now perhaps it’s time to start thinking about what’s next as you know you’ll have to step away from your business sooner or later.

If you don’t know where to start, we have the perfect event for you! Come meet with a community that understands your concerns. People who have been in your shoes and the advisers who serve them.

Your employees have been with you through thick and thin. Building your company alongside you. But as you prepare to exit, your attention turns to one question again and again: What’s going to happen to my employees now that I’m selling? Here are 4 Ways You Can Look Out for Your Key Employees During the Sale of Your Company.

Exiting your business is a process. It’s not an event. It might come as a surprise to you, but exiting well can take a lot longer than you might think. Why? Private company investors today are investing in great teams more than anything.

In this post we’ll help you understand some of your options to allow you to exit well, on your terms.

Where you sit today, exiting your business may be a far off thought, but it’s important to see that one day it will be a reality. Even if your exit is 20 or 30 years away, there are things you can do today that will radically increase the value of your business in the here and now, and when it’s time to exit.

It’s not time to ride off into the sunset and sell your company yet, but it’s coming and you find yourself wondering what you can do now to prepare for the inevitable future–the sale of your company.

Here at Doescher Group we work with business owners to ensure you make the most of your once in a lifetime opportunity to sell your business, by helping you position yourself and your business for exit in order to send you confidently into life’s next adventure.

Here are three tips for successfully selling your business to get you started.