Frequently Asked Questions

How long does exit planning take?

It depends on how much time you have and how much work you want to invest in improving your valuation before going to market. Typically, we advise owners to start the process no less than 3-5 years out.

What is exit planning?

Exit planning is the process of understanding the business owner wants to leave their ownership position. The focus is on how the business asset will be sold to a new owner(s), transferred to a family member(s), or dissolved in an orderly fashion, as well as the timeline for this process. Key elements include business valuation, financial planning, tax strategies, legal considerations, and sourcing buyers.

What is succession planning?

Succession planning is the process of identifying and developing internal talent within an organization to fill key leadership positions in the future, ensuring business continuity when current employees retire, leave, or move on to other roles; it involves proactively preparing individuals to take over critical positions by assessing their skills and providing necessary training and development opportunities to fill potential vacancies. The focus is on how to prepare specific people to take over key roles and the responsibility for running the business. The business owner may retain ownership while leaving day-to-day operations or the succession plan may be part of an exit strategy by which the owner divests their ownership position.

When should I start succession or exit planning?

Right now. Purpose First Advisors believes in present-tense succession and exit planning that is integrated into your strategic growth plan.

Businesses with the highest valuation compared to their peers are built to be profitable and valuable. That is the result of intentional decision making that reduces owner dependence, lowers customer dependence, creates a strong leadership team, codifies replicable processes and procedures, reduces risk, and produces sufficient recurring revenue and free cash flow. The earlier you start the more options you create for you and your family.

What is change management?

In order to grow, i.e. move your business from its current state to your desired future state in terms of income, profitability, sustainability, and valuation various things need to change. This may require new technology, processes, staff, product/service development, financial management activities, or culture shifts.

You probably already know what changes need to happen. But change is uncomfortable and disruptive. As a result, you may avoid taking the actions you know are required. Purpose First Advisors helps you manage the growing pains inherent in the process. Together we strategize on how to sequence and introduce changes, engage subject matter experts, communicate why change is necessary to achieve your vision, and manage the feelings and behaviors that often result from and directly impact the process of change.

Will you work with my other advisors?

Yes, collaboration and coordination among your financial, wealth, business and legal advisors is essential. Purpose First Advisors is eager to work with your existing team or help you source the advisors you need.

Will you meet with my leadership team or other staff?

Yes, we work with leadership teams and support owners in building the capacity of their teams by helping them understand the owner’s vision, key priorities, long-term goals, and performance expectations.

What do you need from me to get started?

After executing a contract we ask you to provide as many of the following documents as possible. If you don’t have them, that’s not a problem as it helps us identify where we need to close gaps or make improvements.

Formation and governing documents (operating agreements, buy-sell agreements, etc.)
Financial statements for the last 3 years in Excel (with your P&L by month)
Pricing documents
Marketing and sales documents/plans
Org chart
Job descriptions
Process/procedure manual
A list of key technologies (accounting, project management, CRM etc.)
Other business documents

What does it look like to work together?

We start by understanding your vision for your business. Then, through conversation and document review, we evaluate the current state of your business. By knowing where you are and where you want to be, we can then identify the key topics and activities to focus on to achieve the outcomes you want. We want to help you build your business with the end in mind.

We encourage clients to define what a successful relationship looks like for them. For those owners in the growth stage of their business, some define success as feeling less overwhelmed, more focused, less stressed, or more confident in their role as owner and visionary. This is often the result of us working together to do things like:

Understanding and making business decisions using your financial statements
Updating pricing methods
Creating financial projections aligned to growth activities
Creating and executing consistent brand building and business development activities
Sharpening your target audience and communicating your value proposition
Making hiring decisions to support growth
Process documentation and delegation
Engaging other professional advisors to make strategic decisions and reduce risk
Evaluating strategic opportunities
Intentionally shifting your focus to working on rather than in your business

For owners who are specifically interested in succession and/or exit planning, we look at the overall state of the business as it relates to your desired transition timeline. This work is strategic and tactical regarding personal readiness and business attractiveness decisions.

Business owners working to improve valuation and execute a specific succession or exit plan have to continue to run a profitable business while also making the personal and business decisions required to do a successful transaction or transfer. Purpose First Advisors helps you understand the process, identify and make critical decisions, and align the team (estate attorneys, tax advisors, wealth advisors, transaction attorneys, bankers, key executives, and family members) involved in the planning and execution of key activities.

What are your specialties?

Purpose First Advisors focuses on growth consulting through the lens of succession and exit planning. We are industry agnostic though our clients often include other professional service providers (marketing, public relations, nonprofit consulting, leadership consulting, real estate, etc.), small scale speciality manufacturing, hospitality, and retail.

In our experience, we can quickly get up to speed on what makes your industry and business unique while helping you adopt the core operational, managerial and leadership practices that are universal to all profitable and valuable businesses. We are not lawyers, accountants, HR specialists or therapists and while we dabble in those areas, we make referrals as needed.

How long do you work with clients?

It depends, however, most clients work with Purpose First Advisors for two years or more. Over that time the scope of work and frequency of meetings often changes to meet your changing needs.

How do you structure your consulting fees?

Purpose First Advisors works on a monthly retainer model. Most clients start with a standing one-hour meeting once every two weeks via Zoom with email and text support between meetings, as needed. Clients are asked to commit to a minimum engagement of three months.