This article highlights the pivotal role of advisors in guiding business owners’ ventures and encourages them to advocate for entrepreneurs to adopt an investor-centric perspective. By encouraging business owners to view their ventures through the eyes of outside investors, advisors facilitate objectivity, long-term value creation and the identification of strengths and weaknesses. Access to capital (if desired), strategic alignment and accountability are also benefits, ultimately positioning businesses for sustained growth and resilience. Ready for Next's “See Your Business Through the Eyes of an Investor” assessment tool is a practical step for owners to gain insights into their ventures' investor appeal, underscoring the advisor's role in helping an owner succeed.

This is Sean Hutchinson’s personal chronicles the journey of receiving the CEPA designation in 2008, highlighting the challenges and triumphs faced by early adopters in the field of exit planning. Despite initial excitement, the concept of the "exit plan" faced resistance from business owners, prompting the development of innovative strategies like the Value Acceleration Methodology. Through perseverance and collaboration, the CEPA community has grown to 5000 members, marking a significant milestone in the evolution of this specialized profession.

Human capital is a crucial driver of business value. By advocating leadership and culture as pivotal contributors to transferable enterprise value, professionals can benefit their business owner clients. Understanding the impact of leadership and culture on business value is imperative in client discussions, where emphasizing the potential positive or negative influences on their business's worth is essential. Learn more in this article.

This webinar was originally presented through the Exit Planning Institute in April 2022 by Ready for Next team members Sean Hutchinson and Rob Johannigman.

Remember the early days in your career when you went to job interviews and you were so keen on impressing the potential employer that you didn’t stop to think if they were right for you?

New client engagements can sometimes feel the same. You want to impress the owner and are so confident you can bring value to their business that you blow past yellow lights. You head straight to the solution without knowing what all the issues are.

Empowering conversations and good client relationships should be mutually beneficial. You both have a voice in determining if you should engage in working together.

It is important to remember the client is the only one who can decide they have a need for your services. You may be the exact person with the exact right solution at the exact right time, and if the client doesn’t think they have a problem requiring you and your solution, then it doesn’t matter.

At RFN, we’re proponents of making the most of smart ideas. We’re resolute in our belief that thought leaders are life-long learners, committed not only to improving themselves but to sharing valuable resources with anyone who may benefit.

Enjoy this book review.

Think of the process as “know, like and trust.”

Sean Hutchinson appeared on the Poised for Exit podcast with host Julie Keyes to talk about what motivates business owners.

Building trust with a client is not just about questioning effectively, it is also about asking quality questions.

Humans are social animals. We tend to reflect what is presented to us. We move in the direction of our conversations.