TRANSITION TALK

Completing an annual valuation on your business is the financial service industry equivalent of undergoing your annual physical. I’ll turn 55 this year and I have resigned myself to the fact that prescription medications have officially become their own food group and an annual physical is no longer optional. My annual pilgrimage happens to take place in the spring tucked neatly amongst the sporadic appointments to see specialists for knees, elbows, near sightedness, far sightedness, rotator cuffs and something about my lumbar.

Now, the key word here is annual. If I had my cholesterol checked 10 years ago and then never again how am I going to know if what I am doing is working? An annual examination provides a historical record of your overall health including your vital signs enabling you to make changes in order to perform at your best. The good news is that, unlike my annual physical, your valuation results should get better as your business matures.

Your business is a living, breathing entity. Just like the investments you make on behalf of your clients, it needs to be nurtured, protected, and developed in order to realize its maximum value. It’s important that your valuation be updated annually. The monetary value of your practice is just one of many pieces of information to be gleaned from a professional business valuation.

Everyone has a unique vision of their future; we’re all trying to forge a path with our careers to that end goal where we can take a big breath and simply enjoy the life we’ve earned. While we might have an idea of the specific journey we will take, it’s important to remain open to alternate routes and unexpected shortcuts along the way. The hardest step on this journey for most is that which takes them out of the professional world they’ve been a part of for many years.

Unique goals and unique journeys require a creative strategy. For financial advisors, the Sell and Stay® path offers flexibility and freedom for an exit from the industry. There are advisors in the industry who have built a team of advisors with next generation owners and have built an internal transition into the sustainability of their business. The majority of our industry, however, is still made up of single-owner practices. Luckily, Sell and Stay® offers them the option of a similar exit path.

If you’ve been reading my recent posts, you know I consider myself a “win-win” gal.  You’ve read about how the self-discovery of my real win—not owning the business—was key to not only successfully exiting my business, but also launching what I now call “my next chapter.”  

Up to this point, I was primarily speaking of the founder’s win, and that of a buyer. In my research and work with clients who are firm founders, I have noticed that their perspectives on their own personal transition strategies often fall into two camps. That is, some are asleep at the wheel, relying on autopilot; and others are convinced they’ve already got a plan ready to go whenever they are.

In recent months, I’ve come to recognize there is one more win to add to the mix. This realization has come about as I met with a growing number of smart, hard-working “junior” professionals who are frustrated by a lack of clear strategic vision for the firm and their role in it. Even those who are designated successors, described a lack of transparency from the founders regarding the firm’s financial picture, vision and strategy.

This is the third piece in our series with guest writer Laurie Nichols (read the first here and the second here) that chronicles her personal journey of selling her her business four years ago.

After spending nearly 30 years in financial services, including more than a decade wearing the Chief Compliance Officer hat, I don’t often make definitive claims or promises.

However, as I reflect on what has brought me to where I am now—living and working with renewed energy and excited about the future—there is something I know for sure: A successful transition from business owner to an inspiring next chapter starts with looking in the mirror and challenging yourself. 

How I Know

As I started to experience some “mid-life wake up calls,” both personally and professionally, I resisted looking at the truth of where I was in a holistic way.

I was a worrier. A deeply committed worrier who thought the key to financial security and success was to just keep pushing the same old boulder up hill and hoping it wouldn’t roll down.

After Laurie Nichols out of her business four years ago - a transition that took her on a personal goal-setting journey (read about it in her first guest post here)- she was able to look back on the importance of planning ahead for a successful exit and future for herself and her business.

Over the years, as my partners and I grew our business, opportunities to monetize seemed to crop up regularly. We figured we had time though and relaxed into our comfortable position on the fence certain of a “someday score”–we thought there’d always be someone eager to buy and we’d be set.

We had no dates, no planning tasks, no target successor profile. We coasted on autopilot and didn’t really think much about someday–except the occasional fantasy about the cash out sure to come.

Wake up

Then, about 10 years ago, the wake up calls started and we realized someday was upon us with no “score” in sight. As I look back on my transformation from shareholder to seller, three particular wake up calls stand out as crossroads that could have easily been ignored.