The Top Seven Strategic Business Transition Options

Many successful business owners we speak with choose their transition option based on something they have heard from an unreliable source. This could be from other business owner friends who might have already transitioned their business.

Generally, most business owners are not aware of all their transition options. This means they could be making one of the biggest decisions of their career with incomplete information. For successful business owners to be able to meet their business, personal and financial goals, understanding all seven transition options that are available goes a long way. There is an eighth option, orderly liquidation, which is not a recommended avenue but generally is the cheapest of all the available options. Too often owners are forced into this transition option when the necessary education or planning has not taken place. The downside is they won’t be able to maximize their value – as the owner won’t get compensated for their intangible assets, they will typically have a higher taxable gain, and this ultimately disrupts company culture.