Blog Archives - Page 3 of 9 - The Transition Strategists

How Transition Planning Can Help You Envision a Fulfilling Life Outside Your Company – Charting the Unknown

As a transition strategist, I know how transition planning can help you envision a fulfilling life outside your company, but when I ask owners why they haven’t yet created a plan to transition their companies to successors, answers vary. I’m too young to think about leaving. I can’t imagine doing anything more, or as, meaningful as running my business. I’m having too much fun to think about doing anything else. I’m too busy running my company to think about a transition. The economy is too uncertain right now. Someday, I

Elizabeth Ledoux June 23, 2023

The effect of business taxes The Transition Strategists

The Effect of Federal Estate Taxes on Business Transitions

There are many factors—both financial and personal—to consider when crafting a business transition. Among the financial factors is taxation, and one element of taxation that few owners have had to consider since 2018 is the effect of federal estate taxes on business transitions. Currently estates of less than $12.92 million (or $25.84 million for a married couple) pay no federal taxes. As of January 1, 2026, however, and unless Congress acts, the exemption level falls to approximately $5 million, as adjusted for inflation. Double that for married couples.[1] The value

Elizabeth Ledoux June 6, 2023

Today: A good time to begin transition planning?

Business owners frequently ask us whether this is a good time to begin transition planning. Especially in uncertain times, we hear this question a lot. (I wrote about Planning a Business Transition During a Recession in April of 2023.) Owners are naturally concerned about transitioning their companies to family members, business partners, or employees in a time of economic uncertainty. While they are confident in their own ability to steer their companies through tough times, they worry about whether their successors are up to the difficult task and certainly don’t

Elizabeth Ledoux May 10, 2023

Expectations in Family Business Transitions

A quote commonly attributed to William Shakespeare applies in nearly every relationship but always reminds me of a common pitfall in family business transitions: Expectation is the root of all heartache. Expectations in family business transitions are especially toxic because they can damage or destroy the irreplaceable relationships between parents and children. We all bring expectations into the workplace and parents and children in family businesses are no exception. Children often come into a business thinking they know more than they do and expecting to be successful because they’ve heard

Elizabeth Ledoux April 27, 2023

The Transition STrategists - planning a business succession during a recession - businessman at computer

Planning a Business Transition During a Recession

According to the Conference Board, there is a 99% probability of recession within the next 12 months.[1] That expectation raises a question for owners who are thinking about (or are already working on) the transition of their companies to successors: Should you be planning a business transition during a recession? Should you forge ahead or hit the pause button? Entrepreneurs, wealth creators and transition strategists are not pessimists by nature. Instead, we are nimble problem-solvers who, through a combination of hard work and creative thinking, create better futures for ourselves,

Elizabeth Ledoux April 27, 2023

Succession Planning is in the Eye of the Beholder

In early 2023, the Colorado Chamber of Commerce released the Colorado Competitive Landscape Report: 2022 Sentiment and 2023 Outlook. In it, CEOs of public, private and non-profit organizations shared their thoughts about workforce challenges, Colorado’s business climate, their operations / strategic plans and what 2023 might bring. Succession Planning is in the Eye of the Beholder As a business transition guide, one of the findings that interested me was that most companies include “succession planning” in their strategic plans, yet their approach to planning varied dramatically. “One respondent reported having a

Elizabeth Ledoux March 21, 2023

Is the M&A Market the Best Exit Path for You?

Owners who ask me whether I recommend selling their companies to a third party are often stunned by my answer: Maybe or maybe not. They are stunned because I’m a transition strategist who works with owners planning business transitions every day. And yet, I can’t recommend an exit path until owners tell me what they want the transition of their companies to achieve. Is the M&A market the best exit path for you? Maybe, but let’s go a bit deeper into the question. The first and fundamental question: Why? The

Elizabeth Ledoux March 14, 2023

Getting Unstuck in Business Transitions

I’ve written about the three primary reasons owners get unstuck and take the leap into their business transition journeys: 1) a reckoning with mortality, 2) the achievement of a goal or 3) a reaction to events outside the business. In this article, I share four steps to getting unstuck in business transitions using, as an example, an owner who experienced a death in the family. “Liza” the young daughter of one of our clients, “Simon,” died after a tragic climbing accident. This loss made a permanent mark on Simon, his

Elizabeth Ledoux February 21, 2023

The Price of Procrastination in Business Transitions

Procrastination: It’s a behavior that everyone agrees is rarely productive and yet, in some areas of our lives, we’re all guilty of it. When we procrastinate about taking out the trash or making dinner, the consequences are minimal and generally short lived. The price of procrastination in business transitions, however, is high and very often long lasting, if not life changing.* The length of your runway As transition strategists, we’re evangelists for long runways. What we mean is that the more time owners give themselves to plan their business transitions,

Deborah Davis, MS, PCC February 14, 2023