The Often Neglected Leg of the
Exit Planning Stool
The Often Neglected Leg of the Exit Planning Stool
According to the Exit Planning Institute, there are three essential legs of the exit planning stool: Business Readiness, Financial Readiness, and Personal Readiness.
While most advisors and business owners focus heavily on the first two, Personal Readiness is frequently overlooked. It’s understandable business and financial metrics are easier to quantify. But neglecting the personal side can quietly derail even the best-laid exit strategy.
Why Personal Planning Is the Most Dangerous One to Ignore
Why Personal Planning Is the Most Dangerous One to Ignore
A business owner can have a profitable and exit ready business what closes their Wealth Gap but still find themselves adrift after the exit or regretting the sale. Without clarity around purpose, identity, relationships, and how they want to spend their time, many experience regret, boredom, or worse.
The emotional and psychological aspects of the transition are often underestimated. Yet these are the very issues that influence whether your client’s next chapter will be fulfilling or frustrating.
Lack to clarity about what is next is also dangerous because it fuels fear that often emotionally undermines their exit entirely.
What Is Personal Readiness And Why Most Assessments Miss the Mark
What Is Personal Readiness And Why Most Assessments Miss the Mark
What Is Personal Readiness And Why Most Assessments Miss the Mark
Most readiness assessment tools do lip-service to personal readiness. They ask some personal questions but don’t get to an owner’s emotional and psychological readiness. While these assessments are very good at assessing business readiness, they don’t capture whether an owner is ready to give up the reins and move on to what they see as a truly meaningful life after business ownership.
Our Next Chapter Personal Readiness Assessment goes deeper. We identify the gaps that need to be addressed and deliver an actionable report.
What Is Personal Readiness And Why Most Assessments Miss the Mark
When Should You Address It? In All Three Gates
When Should You Address It? In All Three Gates
Personal Readiness plays a role at every stage of the exit planning process:
Our Process Personal Readiness for Beyond the Business
Our Process Personal Readiness for Beyond the Business
Our structured yet flexible process is designed to complement the CEPA framework and strengthen your client relationships. It:
We strongly urge couples to include their spouse in this process. Here is a short description of the process:
Step 1
Assess Personal Readiness (Discovery Gate)
Owner takes the Next Chapter Personal Readiness Assessment. Both you and the owner receive the report. We conduct a debrief session with you and the owner to discuss next steps.
Step 2
Envision the Next Chapter (Prepare Gate)
We work with the owner to create a clear and compelling vision of what life after the business could look like. This longer-term view is integrated into your wealth gap analysis and the personal financial plan, helping ensure the owner’s financial goals support the lifestyle you want.
We also help the owner design a short-term lifestyle shift for more balance now not just later.
Step 3
Plan the Transition (Decide Gate)
Once the decision is made to actively work on selling, we work with the owner to develop a detailed plan for their next chapter whether that includes time off, new ventures, philanthropy, travel, or simply space to breathe. Having a roadmap gives them confidence and helps reduce second-guessing when the deal gets real. We explore:
This kind of reflection helps clients prepare emotionally and psychologically for life after business and strengthens your plan as their advisor.