A Little Tough Love From Your Exit Adviser: How We Help Business Owners Avoid Paralysis by Analysis When Selling Their Company

I started Doescher Group because during my career to that point, I witnessed how wildly underadvised small and lower middle market self-made business owners were when it came to preparing for and executing their exits.  They were sitting down to play a brand new board game against a team of seasoned pros. It was unfamiliar and unfair. This insight eventually became our guiding purpose at Doescher Group:

Owner Education as a Core Part of Exit Planning Strategy

A key part of leveling the playing field for us is about owner education. We love making self-made business owners smarter when it comes to strategic financial decisions. Our team gets pumped every time we witness a client experience the demystification of a financial concept nobody has ever properly explained to them before.

One of our core values, perhaps my favorite, is “obstacles are opportunities.” Our team is relentless in seeking avenues to help our clients achieve their goals. We are really good at solving client issues, and we never stop learning new ways to get things done.

When Too Much Exit Planning Information Creates Paralysis by Analysis

All of this education of business owners is fantastic, and it’s far superior to taking one random person’s advice at your local country club. However, a new problem can emerge from having too much information and too many options: paralysis by analysis. 

Early on in this work, we worked with a client whose owner was of retirement age. He was a founder and in business for over forty years with an amazing niche, brand, and a cult following. He would rather shut down the business than see it sold to a big commoditized competitor, or a private equity group focused solely on growth and profitability at the expense of the brand ethos.

Over the course of nearly two years, we looked at every viable way to transfer ownership in a way that would achieve his goals. We were able to find quite a number of feasible solutions, but in the end, the owner could not bring himself to take action on any of them.

It wasn’t that there weren’t any good options: it was that there were too many, and the choice felt overwhelming. 

Why Business Owners Struggle to Choose an Exit Path

Photo by Jens Lelie on Unsplash

Unfortunately, this is not the only time we’ve seen a business owner feel paralyzed by options and ultimately could not pull the trigger on any of them, especially when one internet search can bring up dozens of conflicting, unvetted opinions. 

We learned this lesson the hard way.

As advisers to self-made business owners, we’ve learned that we need to be aware of when education becomes overeducation. Our team loves to learn (we are unashamed business geeks), so we are happy to dive ever deeper into research. But there are diminishing returns to more information.

As in so many areas of life, the Pareto principle applies. Don’t let perfect be the enemy of good enough. 

We don’t need to know everything about everything. Even for a huge decision like the sale of the company you’ve spent your life building, there is a good enough answer. And it’s our job to help you find it. 

For example, when selecting an investment bank to represent you in the sale of your company, our goal now is not to tell you about every single possibility under the sun, but to prudently guide you to a situation where you have multiple great options while still bringing our discernment to the process. In other words, we get you to a place where all choices are good choices.

Different Decision Styles Require Different Advisory Approaches

In some cases, business owners need us to bring our background, history, and expertise to the table, but want to digest all the information and make their own decision. Other owners want us to cut through the noise and present them with the best possible option. As advisers, we are paid to advise. 

The Moment of Truth in Exit Planning and Business Transitions

And sometimes, we have to have a “moment of truth” discussion with the owner, to help push them through the discomfort and make a decision that they will be proud of. Another one of our core values is “always the truth”. Sometimes this is hard, but as advisers, we just need to say, “Okay, you have all the information you need, and it’s time to make a decision.”

That’s because we’ve seen enough to know that no decision is still a decision. And no decision, in my experience, is usually not the route when you’re discussing something as important as the evolution or exit from your business.

“Time kills all deals” is a classic cliche in the transaction world. We’ve seen this in action too many times to count. 

Why the Right Exit Adviser Matters More Than More Information

That’s why we will be your partners through the process and listen deeply to your needs, but when you need us to, we will step up and help you make the best possible decision for you and your business. 

You don’t need all the information in the world; you just need the right info paired with the right adviser.