Blogs and Resources
Case Study: Business Owners Exit with a Family Legacy
As an attorney, CPA, or financial advisor, you likely work with clients who own a family business. You may also recognize that strategic philanthropy can play a meaningful role in succession planning as clients prepare for an eventual exit. But how does that strategy...
ISPA and BTC Announce Strategic Partnership to Strengthen Succession Planning for Advisors Working with Business Owners
Orlando, FL — April 15, 2026 — The International Succession Planning Association (ISPA) and the Business Transition Council (BTC) today announced a strategic partnership focused on strengthening how advisors approach succession and transition planning with business...
Aligning Business Transitions with Charitable Goals: What Advisors Should Know
Business transitions are among the most significant financial events your clients will ever experience. In the coming decade, the United States will see the largest intergenerational transfer of privately held business wealth in history. Many baby boomer owners are...
Passion and Zen: Designing a Life on Your Own Terms
Passion and Zen explores how boundaries and integrity are instrumental in honoring the practices that strengthen our resilience. These practices help us gain a deeper understanding of ourselves and our purpose. When we know what we want and truly believe we deserve...
Future-Proofing Private Wealth: How Business Owners Are Planning Ahead
Business ownership is more than a career, it’s a high-stakes investment and often the cornerstone of a family’s financial future. Unlike public-market investors, private business owners face unique challenges: concentrated wealth, illiquidity, and complex exit...
The Networking Playbook
Networking is more than shaking hands, swapping cards, or delivering a polished elevator pitch. It’s about building real relationships that lead to trust, opportunity, and long-term business success. In The Networking Playbook for Entrepreneurs and Small Businesses,...
Cash Balance Plans: A Game-Changer for High-Income Business Owners
How to boost retirement savings and reduce your tax liability It’s common for business owners to prioritize reinvesting profits over saving for retirement. But when it’s time to catch up, traditional retirement plans like IRAs and 401(k)s often fall short. For...
Why More Money Demands More Planning
Why More Money Demands More Planning When we think of wealth, we often associate it with comfort, security, and confidence. After all, having more money should mean fewer worries—right? Not quite. In reality, the relationship between wealth and risk is far more...
A Mid-Retirement Check-in
Retirement & Longevity Evaluate your retirement beyond health and wealth. As you move through retirement, it’s important to set time aside to reflect on how you’re doing. While most people often focus on their health and finances, it’s equally as important to...
Your Business Deserves an “Estate Plan”
Business Ownership Drafting a succession plan now can help your business stand the test of time. As a business owner, you’ve invested so much into making your business successful – hard work, time, money, energy. It’s truly hard to imagine your business without you....
Managing cash, the essential fuel of your business
Learn more about how to strike the right balance with your business’s cash management. It’s important for your business to have cash on hand to meet everyday expenses, pay salaries and suppliers, invest in new equipment, real estate or technology, fuel growth and...
Lessons learned: The value of the exit interview
Lessons learned: The value of the exit interview How to learn from attrition and emerge stronger During the “Great Resignation,” companies large and small grappled with employee turnover. While a percentage of employees leave for personal or other factors not related...
How Corp Execs are Leveraging AI
How Corporate Executives are Leveraging AI From innovation and competitiveness to streamlining productivity. AI technologies promise a range of valuable use cases for companies, but many are still seeking ways to realize its full potential. With increased accuracy and...
Four Ways to Teach your Kids about Business
Four Ways to Teach your Kids about Business Set them up for professional – and personal – success. Whether your children will grow up to be entrepreneurs or to work for someone else, teaching kids early about business helps them establish valuable skills that can...
Leveraging your Digital Presence for Business Growth
Leveraging your Digital Presence for Business Growth How to harness the power of your online footprint to engage current and prospective customers. Having a strong digital presence is integral to your business’ success. Often, the first move people make when they need...
Private Podcasting for Businesses & Organizations: A Powerful Tool for Communication, Engagement, and Growth
How one of the biggest trends in media can revitalize your organization’s communications. Effective communication is the backbone of any successful business or organization. Yet, in today’s fast-paced world, vital messages often get lost in crowded inboxes, overlooked...
Designing Your Post-Exit Life: A Strategic Plan for a Fulfilling Future
Exiting your business is a major life shift filled with complex emotions and important decisions. You’ve poured your heart, time, and resources into this business, and the idea of stepping away likely brings mixed feelings. You may feel the conflict between wanting to...
Building a Financially Free Life After Your Business Exit
Achieving financial freedom is one of the most empowering outcomes of a successful exit. Here, financial freedom isn’t about being “rich”—true richness is found in relationships, as discussed in building a relationally rich life. Instead, financial freedom is about...
Building a Vocationally Aligned Life After Your Business Exit
After years of dedicating yourself to the role of business owner, aligning your life with a fulfilling new vocation is essential. When we talk about “vocation” here, it’s not about a job title, a paycheck, dividend, equity, or a W2. Your vocation is what you choose to...
Beyond the Matrix: Holistic Succession Planning Incorporating Long-Term Care
Succession planning is a cornerstone of ensuring the continuity of closely held businesses. The ISPA Succession Matrix® identifies ten critical interdependent factors necessary for achieving "Succession Success™." While financial and operational considerations...
Building a Physically Fit Life After Your Business Exit
Achieving a physically fit lifestyle is an important component of a meaningful post-exit life, especially as we age. After years of focusing on business goals, there is no better time to start to prioritize your health and well-being if you haven’t already been doing...
Building a Spiritually Anchored Life After Your Business Exit
Being spiritually anchored is one of the most meaningful pillars for a fulfilling life after business. For many, this hallmark is about grounding yourself in purpose, values, and a belief system that guides your choices and interactions. When you’re spiritually...
Wrapping Up the 5 Emotions and Setting the Stage for the 6 Hallmarks of a Fulfilling Post-Exit Life
The previous 5 posts covered 5 of the more common emotions you may face as a business owner in the exit planning stage. As you navigate the emotional landscape of exiting your business, the journey doesn’t end with merely acknowledging and managing feelings. The five...
Rediscovering Identity Beyond Business Ownership
Business owners often wrestle with the fear of losing their identity when planning an exit. After years or even decades, of pouring time, energy, and passion into building their enterprise, for many business owners, the thought of stepping away feels like stepping...
Cash(flow) is King
Ever have your bookkeeper come to you and say… “if I pay those invoices you told me to take care of… we’re going to be short on payroll this week. What do you want me to do?” If so, you probably made some quick, knee-jerk adjustments to your payables, got your people...
Business Seller Success Guide
CAN I SELL A BUSINESS? Yes, but it’s most advantageous to make a plan. Even during economic downturns, such as those experienced during the times of COVID-19 and the challenges in 2008, business owners continued to sell their businesses. However, it’s important to...
Business Buying Success Guide
DO YOU DREAM OF BUYING YOUR OWN BUSINESS? Buying a business can be a complicated process. It starts with finding the right business for you and goes all the way to figuring out the details required for a smooth transfer of ownership. BIG STEPS - LOTS OF UNKNOWNS! ...
Understanding the Fear of Regret During the Exit Planning Process
The fear of regret is a powerful emotion that business owners often experience when planning their exit. After years of dedication, hard work, and countless sacrifices, the idea of stepping away can bring up a host of “what ifs.” What if it’s the wrong decision? What...
Understanding Retirement Anxiety During the Exit Planning Process
Retirement anxiety is a powerful emotion that many business owners face when considering their exit. For years, the business has provided not just financial stability, but also a sense of purpose, routine, and identity. The thought of leaving all that behind can be...
Navigating Emotional Attachment in the Exit Planning Process
Emotional attachment can be one of the most challenging emotions some business owners face during the exit planning process. After years of dedication, growth, and overcoming obstacles, a business often feels like an extension of the owner’s identity. Letting go can...
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