What is a one page business owner exit plan?

As advisors our goal has always been to help Business Owners start a discussion about their eventual exit and ensure they touch upon the most important issues well before any planned succession.

Exit and succession planning is often portrayed as complex. The One Page Exit Plan© is an easy to understand, straight forward process designed to help simplify all the complexities a business owner faces in developing an exit plan.

For business advisors the One Page Exit Plan© presents a great framework to structure a long term, highly profitable business advisory engagement.

Characteristics of the One Page Exit Plan©:

• A One Page Exit Plan© is a visual, simple to understand guiding document.
• Educational for the business owner(s), helping them to understand the process and communicate to key stakeholders.
• Enjoyable to develop.
• Dynamic by nature, easy to update and modify.
• Enables alignment for both advisors & owners and acts as a scoreboard & roadmap.
• Can provide the driving force and narrative for multiple advisors ensuring they are all on the same page.
• Can be done initially as a simple exercise but has the ability to be the framework for weeks/months and even years of driving actions.
• It connects the dots. Decisions about a Business Owner exit are often made in isolation without an understanding of the impact and relationship between business matters, personal financial planning and the owner’s personal wellness.
• Should be done quarterly or every 6 months to help the business owner stay on track and see progress (like losing weight!)

To be most effective within business, this One Page Exit Plan© will also require additional detailed analysis & action plans, as well as a constant review process that revisits objectives and progress every 90 days.

Below is an example of a small sized business One Page Exit Plan©.

What are the benefits?

• The One Page Exit Plan© ensures that the shareholders, family, stakeholders and advisors are aligned and all on the same page.
• The Exit Planning process delivers the biggest impact when owners receive expert guidance from a number of professional advisors on a variety of factors.
• The One Page Exit Plan© should be used as a tool to summarize your goals and make sure your advisors, family and stakeholders are working toward a successful and coordinated exit transition.

This output is all automated in the MAUS ValueMax software designed to help advisors deliver exit planning services to their clients. For more info – Click Here

Peter Hickey, CEO, MAUS Business Systems best selling “One Page Exit Plan© Workbook” is available at amazon and is a must read for all business owners and advisors looking to educate themselves on the topic. You can purchase the full workbook on the following link – Click Here