Table of Contents

• Guiding Your Clients to a Successful Business Exit

• Streamline Your Year-End Books

• Journey to Your North Star

Guiding Your Clients to a Successful Business Exit

by Nancy Mills

Did you know that only 30% of businesses marketed for sale sell? And 75% of business owners regret selling their companies.

Yet, there are some ways trusted advisors can prepare a business owner for a successful transition out of their business. While many people say they never want to retire, the reality is that everyone exits at some point. Do they want a probate court or a family law judge to decide the fate of their biggest asset? It can devastate the company, its employees, and their families.

What is a successful business exit? While success is defined differently for everyone, a proper exit strategy involves transferring company ownership to WHOM you choose WHEN you want. You need to live in style for the amount of MONEY you earn. It is not an overnight task but achievable with proper planning and guidance.

Think of the two neighboring houses in a prestigious (but old) Houston neighborhood that went up for sale simultaneously. One sold immediately at full asking price, and the other languished with no offers. What’s the difference? The successful homeowner started preparing years in advance, with updates to the inside and outside and all the systems properly functioning. The other house was listed as is.

It seems obvious when you think about it this way, but most business owners do nothing to prepare for their eventual departure. Unfortunately, most wait until what we call the dismal Ds: disease, divorce, disability, death, or disagreement with a partner. Then it is too late.

There are many ways that advisors can help owners prepare. However, the elements are:

• Discovery

Learn what is essential to the owner. Then, determine business value and salability.

• Increase Company Value

Identify and work on the areas of the business that can be improved to make it more valuable and attractive to investors or buyers

• Contingency Planning

Reduce the effects of unexpected events

• Exit Options Analysis

The pros and cons for that individual about all the potential exit paths

• Monetization

Deal structure, compensation agreements, earnouts, tax elimination

• Financial Planning

For lifetime financial independence

• Legacy Planning

Assets left behind are distributed as social capital to whom, what, and how. Implementing this takes a team, but the benefits are astronomical.

Based near Houston, Texas, Nancy Mills is a Business Prosperity Coach. She works with business owners to maximize their company's value using a proven process. Nancy has over 20 years of well-rounded global business experience in advertising, consumer insights, culture design, management consulting, marketing, mergers and acquisitions, operations, sales, and strategic innovation.  She holds an MBA from Thunderbird School of Global Management. A native Texan, she speaks Italian fluently as a second language and has lived in Europe for five years. 

Streamline Your Year-End Books

by Sarah Page

Preparing your books for tax filing can significantly benefit your business as the year ends. This task can save you time, money, and potential tax penalties when done right. There are three top things to consider when getting your books ready for your tax preparer to review. 

1. Accounts Receivables – Take some time to review your receivable accounts. You want to ensure that all payments are properly accounted for. Sometimes, payments are received into a holding account, and the bank deposit is not built properly. When the deposit is entered, it doesn’t clear out that income from the holding account; instead, it duplicates your income. This can cost you more in taxes. Are there balances that you do not expect to receive payment for? They should be closed out to bad debt and removed from your books.

2. Expenses – Are transactions showing unresolved on your reconciliation reports? Ones that are a few months out may be an issue that needs to be investigated. Some checks could have been lost in the mail and must be reissued. There might have been a duplicate payment sent, or you did not receive a credit memo when the product was returned, and you do not owe that amount and can void the transaction. Cleaning up these transactions in the same tax year as the original transaction occurred is much easier. 

3. Loan Accounts – This can be challenging, especially when you just ensure everything is accounted for properly with your loan payments. A loan can be a long-term liability if it is over a year or a short-term liability if it is less than a year. When payments are made, there is normally an amount that goes to an interest expense account and an amount that goes against the loan principal amount. The principal payments lower the liability amount on your balance sheet, which will help raise the business equity. If interest is not accounted for, it will show that your income is higher than it should be and will cost you more in taxes.

Sarah Page is an experienced accountant and entrepreneur who founded SAP Virtual Resources LLC in 2021. With 24 years of corporate experience in various industries, she is dedicated to helping small business owners understand their finances. She has served on several boards and committees, including a children’s nonprofit group and a local credit union.

Journey to Your North Star

By Nancy Zare, Ph.D.

Before GPS and navigation systems, travelers relied on the North Star to navigate their journeys across uncharted territories.

Your legal practice is no different—it's a journey.

You start from a place of familiarity—you've honed your legal expertise, earned your credentials, and launched your practice with a clear sense of purpose.

You envision your destination—serving clients, sharing your legal understanding, and building a successful practice.

But the path between these two points demands dependable guidance.

As you survey the vast expanse of client acquisition and practice growth, you're often dazzled by flashy promises of rapid success.

You're right to be cautious.

You don't want questionable messaging, pushy tactics, overstated claims, or aggressive marketing strategies.

What you need is a North Star.

Mel Robbins advises that we create our personal North Star by considering the qualities we admire most in others.

Here are the traits that illuminate my path:

✅ Service

✅ Positivity

✅ Empathy

✅ Friendship

✅ Collegiality

✅ Confidence

✅ Integrity

Are you finding the growth path a bit rocky?

Let’s discuss your North Star.

P. S. Building client relationships takes time, but you can use strategies to expedite the process without compromising quality and authenticity. Ask me how.