Tag Archives: Corporate Business Solutions

Working From Home? 7 Tips to Help You Stay Motivated

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In the past several months, many have had to quickly adjust to working from home rather than the office. Although at the start, it doesn’t seem too bad, you quickly realize the challenges behind not being in the office.

One of the hardest parts of working from home is finding the motivation and dedication to get the job done. You don’t have your boss around the corner, making sure you complete your day. It relies solely on just you.

To help you out, try these tested out tips provided by reviews for Corporate Business Solutions.

Maintain Your Same Work Schedule

One of the best things you can do for yourself as you work from home is to maintain the same schedule. That means, if your workday started at eight in the morning, you’d want to do just that at home.

Keep Your Same Routine

Although this ties in with maintaining your same work schedule, keep your same daily routine as well. When did you take your coffee and lunch breaks? What was your morning routine like? How did you unwind after coming home from work? Keep doing the same things to help keep you in the working mindset.

Dress for Success

Have you ever heard the saying about dressing for success? What we wear has a significant impact on how we feel about and portray ourselves. As tempting as it is to crawl out of bed and start working while in your pajamas, getting dressed in your regular work clothes will help you more in the long run.

Have a Designated Workspace

Even if you don’t have an office with a closed door, you should still have somewhere in your house that is meant as your workspace. That way, you can keep all your work-related items in the same area and stay organized.

Reward Yourself

It may seem silly, but give yourself rewards for a successful workday. Did you have a big project that was on a tight deadline? Maybe you finally sent that email you’ve been dreading all week. Give yourself a pat on the back, go have a snack, put on one of your favorite television shows, and take a relaxing break.

You deserved it.

Purge Yourself From Distractions

Although there are distractions basically everywhere you go, there are even more of them at your house. If you have housework to do or groceries to grab, those will be in the back of your mind.

Other distractions include your cell phone, television and surfing the web on your home computer. If you struggle with online distractions, consider a way to keep applications locked at a particular time, or set yourself a timer for when you need to get back to work.

Make Time for Relationships

One of the hardest parts of working from home is feeling isolated from the outside world (especially during our current events). As you spend so much time at home, take moments to call or video chat with your friends and family. Head outside for a walk and say hi to your neighbors. Whatever you do to help keep your relationships up and not feel isolated, include those.

There we have it – seven tips that often can help one adjust to working from home. Give these points a try for your next workday and see how different you feel.

4 Exit Planning Steps To Get Your Business Prepared

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A lot of business owners know they should have an exit plan in place, but fail to develop one. This is a major problem. All owners should ensure they have a plan for exiting their business in place from the start of their enterprise.

With an exit strategy in place, you’ll be able to keep your business moving in the right direction since you’ll be aligning constantly with the long-term goals you’ve set. An exit strategy also ensures there’s a trigger event to signal the time has come to get out. Without one, you’ll just carry on without ever knowing when the time has come to stop.

There is one thing to note, though. Your exit strategy will certainly change with time, so it has to be reviewed often. Writing down your exit strategy then re-reading it and reviewing it every 6 months to make updates is the best solution.

With this in mind, the team at CBS-CBS.com outlines these simple steps to help prepare your business exit strategy.

1. Sourcing A Buyer

One thing that many business owners fail to consider is how to find a buyer for their company. A lot of owners just naturally assume somebody out there will be interested in purchasing their business, but this is a big mistake. In fact, only a quarter of all saleable companies exit.

One critical element of your exit strategy is to keep a list of prospective buyers. They may be businesses or individuals who have shown an interest previously in buying the business. They may even be competitors who have an interest in acquiring the business once the time has come.

2. Reoccurring Revenue

Revenue represents a key element of a business exit strategy. It isn’t only about the amount of revenue you have, it’s also about the form it takes when it arrives. Subscription-based services and products producing predictable and reoccurring revenue present an attractive proposition to prospective buyers.

Automatically billing in advance is a wise strategy. If all revenue has been set up to be recurring payments, your business will be an extremely attractive option for purchase.

3. A Strong Pattern Of Growth

A business that has displayed strong patterns of growth will be attractive to potential buyers. Predictable and steady financial growth couldn’t be more important. As long as erratic growth swings can be avoided, some tips that are explained easily won’t affect your business’s appeal to purchasers.

4. Standard Procedures Of Operation

If your business doesn’t have a written set of operating procedures, developing them now is vital. Your business should reach the point where should you have a sudden accident and be unable to run your operation yourself, the company would be able to carry on running with no disruptions. Detailing everything from your core values, management practices, mission, vision, and execution strategy to your marketing and sales plans will ensure that prospective buyers have no difficulty in taking over your business.

Every small business owner will have to exit at some future point, and it’s foolish to assume somebody will be ready to buy it when the time is right. If you follow these four steps, you’ll have the best chance of making a successful sale once you’re ready to make the move.

Could Flexible Working Cause A Lack Of Community In The Workplace?

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Flexible working is becoming more commonplace. There has been a greater demand for a transformed work culture in this day and age due to the belief that a smarter and more modern approach will foster better business productivity while supporting a healthy work/life balance for employees.

It seems clear that the flexible work scenario isn’t going anywhere any time soon, and it comes in many forms. From flexible daily hours to home working and compressed working weeks, this style of employment is especially appealing to today’s workforce. So much so, that it has been suggested that in just a few years, the dominant form of employment will be flexible working.

The Benefits Of Flexible Working

It’s easy to see why flexible working is such a popular choice. There are well-established benefits associated with allowing workers to work more flexibly, and positive correlations with a higher level of commitment to the organization as well as better job satisfaction. When family commitments can be accommodated, the stress of commuting can be reduced and workload aligned to the energy cycles of the individual, employees are empowered and feel they have greater control over their working environment and schedule.

For the employer too, the evidence suggests flexible working can reduce staff turnover while also helping in the recruitment of top talent. It also helps to keep a successful team intact while enhancing the company’s image overall.

Yet, there are some disadvantages too that are often overlooked.

The Downside Of A Flexible Work Schedule

Flexible working can lead to the “always-on culture” which can be detrimental to an organization and its employees. Checking emails and responding to them out of office hours, and being available for work at any hour of the day or night may be a way to enhance effectiveness and efficiency, but it can also cause high levels of stress among workers that can impact negatively on psychological and physical health.

Nurturing A Positive Work Community And Environment

When a team can work together closely within the time and space they can generate the best creative energy. Being physically together permits intimacy, clarity, and spontaneity that, in turn, nourishes conviction, confidence, and understanding.

The answer to this is to have more flexibility about flexibility. Flexible working’s outcome should be a set of agreed targets that both employee and employer are on board with, that cover a mix of personal and professional priorities.

So, how do you go about implementing this practice within your organization? If you read Corporate Business Solutions reviews you’ll see that getting the right business consulting help can make an enormous difference to your company’s success.

Our team is well-positioned to give you the essential advice that you need to take your business forward into the future with modern and flexible working practices that reap all of the benefits of this way of operating but that avoid the potential pitfalls of a loss of community and an uncreative, incohesive working environment.

Would Selling Your Company To Its Employees Be A Good Exit Strategy?

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If you’ve built up a successful business, deciding whether or not to sell it is a difficult choice to make. Yet, every business owner must have their exit strategy firmly in place.

You’re sure to already know the classic exit strategy options – finding strategic buyers, an equity sale, or possibly going public for a larger small business. Some owners decide that they’ll just wind down their business entirely. There is, however, a different option – the ESOP or Employee Stock Ownership Plan. This could be the perfect exit strategy if you want your business to stay rooted in its locality and its staff meaningfully employed.

What Is An ESOP?

In simple terms, an ESOP is a tool that can be used by a retiring business owner to sell their company to its employees. They are becoming more popular worldwide thanks to the many benefits that they provide. The Corporate Business Solutions team will explain some of those advantages here.

A Flexible Timeline For Exit

Everyone knows that most Baby Boomers aren’t retiring when they get to 65 anymore. They enjoy working and are happy to carry on as long as they remain in good health. This trend looks set to continue for many more years to come since more people today are seeing their work as an extension to their personal life.

ESOPs allow business owners to carry on playing an important role in their business, but with added flexibility to begin reducing their value within it by transferring value to its employees. With a long transition period, the owner can educate and mentor key people to take over their new roles.

Not only does an ESOP enable a more flexible departure, but it also enables owners to start accessing their retirement capital via the liquidity of transferred shares to employees.

Getting Money Out

Every exit plan hinges on being able to turn the business as an illiquid asset into cash. For your employees to purchase shares in the company, it has to be valued professionally at FMV (Fair Market Value).

As long as the company is currently profitable and looks set to continue in that vein, your employees are unlikely to mind paying fair prices for share. Although some owners believe their employees won’t be able to afford to purchase their company, they find many different financing tools are available that facilitate the process.

Lasting Legacy

Studies have shown that a lot of owners of small businesses end up regretting the sale of their company a short while after the deal is closed. Some even regret the decision when they got the price they wanted for the sale.

A major reason for regretting the decision is that their exit plan has failed to address issues such as legacy and succession. For a lot of business owners, it’s very important to be reassured that the values and culture they put in place will carry on once they have left.

An ESOP helps to ensure the business moves forward with those people who have already shared the owner’s values and vision. More importantly, research has shown that ownership by employees also results in better business outcomes such as improved engagement, retention, and productivity.

Would An ESOP Suit Me?

Not every business owner will find employee stock ownership the right solution since it requires a willingness for financial information to be shared and a more participative management style. However, for those business owners who are keen to have a more flexible timeline for their exit, to obtain a fair price for their sale and a way of leaving their legacy intact, the idea of an ESOP is certainly worth exploring.

Will A Facilitator For Strategic Planning Help Your Business?

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Planning strategy planning sessions for your business can be a real challenge, and that’s why a strategic planning facilitator could prove to be indispensable. When you need some specialist support and advice, a facilitator can come to the rescue, helping you to get the most out of each session.

How can a facilitator be helpful? Corporate Business Solutions consultants outline just a few of the reasons why.

A Facilitator Will Enable Your Contribution And Participation

Rather than leading a planning session, a facilitator will enable you to participate. You cannot participate fully in any session if you’re leading it, so this is a major benefit. A facilitator is also an expert in their field. They have developed a process that maximizing the effort and time you put in and know which questions to ask to produce optimal results. While it’s technically possible to lead your strategy meetings, it’s best not to take any risks with the future of your organization.

Getting To The Heart Of The Matter

As a facilitator is neutral they can ask tough questions on your behalf without any misconceptions or expectations. Even if you think the questions they ask are irrelevant or pointless, these questions often get right to the heart of what is most important. As a facilitator is coming in from outside, they can ask the perfect questions at the perfect time and in the perfect way to ensure the success of your business.

Having someone to lead your organization through the strategic planning process who is neutral is vital to getting your business to the place it needs to be. Your choices won’t impact the facilitator and that means they’re able to approach sessions without any bias.

Setting The Tone

A facilitator will set the tone for a planning meeting and can show you’re committed and serious about strategy development. It shows you’ve made not only a financial commitment but also an emotional commitment to ensuring the session gives your company the best possible level of value.

It isn’t easy to manage a planning session and its facilitation if you’re trying to involve yourself in the conversation too. A facilitator will put pauses into the discussion at strategic moments while controlling the agenda to ensure the best possible outcome for the team.

People Management

Facilitators are used to managing people with all kinds of personalities. It’s their special skill and they use it to ensure there is balanced conversation throughout the session. They ensure everyone can offer their contribution and that it’s as easy as possible to move on with your strategy.

A facilitator can also act as a catalyst to keep things moving forward and getting change initiatives underway. They help to move the organization forward more quickly, rather than living with legacy conversations and decisions that never seem to get dealt with.

Alignment And Clarity – The Key To A High-Performing Team

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All businesses, regardless of their size or industry require a high-performing team to ensure their long-term success. Many company leaders have recognized that one of the best ways to ensure that their workforce achieves their best daily is to maintain alignment and clarity in all ventures. How does this work in practice? The answer lies in regular strategic planning meetings that bring business leaders together with their key team members in a positive atmosphere of cooperation and discussion.

The expert team here at CBS-CBS.com believes that strategic planning meetings are vital in this respect. Not only are such meetings important for drawing up an effective strategy in the first place, but they’re also essential for re-evaluating, honing, and reinforcing that plan to ensure it remains relevant and successful in its aims.

Holding regular meetings to create, re-evaluate and reinforce the strategic plan for your organization helps you to generate both alignment and clarity amongst team members – the two key elements that have been identified as vital to allowing the workforce to achieve its best. So, what does drawing up your business’ strategic plan involve?

How Does Strategic Planning For Alignment And Clarity Work?

The starting point to achieve greater alignment and clarity amongst your workforce through your strategic plan is to assess where your company is right now. The next step is to look at where the business is heading, all the time engaging your team throughout the process. This allows greater alignment and clarity to be achieved simply by taking on board their ideas and suggestions and involving them in the creation of the plan. As a result, your workforce will enjoy greater alignment and clarity for better goal achievement and higher performance overall.

Why Does A Strategic Plan Improve Alignment And Clarity?

When you follow this process, your team will be able to evaluate both opportunities and risks and to discuss them in full and frank detail in a meeting setting. This brings everything out in the open, allowing team members to raise their concerns and issues in a positive environment so everyone can have a greater focus on the things that matter. Ultimately, it allows your team to follow through a process of discussing priority items while also deciding consciously what they shouldn’t do under the current circumstances.

The Benefits Of Professional Advice

Business leaders often feel as if they’re ground down by daily with the day-to-day operation of their company. There is a lot to bear in mind with the daily running of an organization, and strategic planning can so easily fall by the wayside and be overlooked. This is where a team of talented consultants like those at Corporate Business Solutions can prove to be extremely helpful. With the right management consultancy advice, you will be well-placed to identify your company’s most important priorities and to align your team with the best ways to reach your business goals. As a result, you can all achieve more and increase your organization’s profitability in the long-run.

 

 

Build Your Company’s Wealth With Effective Strategic Tax Planning

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A key element of building up and preserving your company’s wealth is strategic tax planning. For many, tax is their biggest expense. It, therefore, couldn’t be more important to focus on saving money when it comes to paying taxes. Why waste money on tax that you legally aren’t obliged to pay? This is where strategic tax planning comes into its own. So, how can you retain more wealth? Let’s take a closer look.

Why Lower Your Taxes?

The two ways you can put more money in your company’s pocket are to make more or to spend less. While you can put a lot of effort and time into promoting your company with no guarantees of success, you can, instead, focus on your strategic tax planning to guarantee better tax efficiency. A lot of people try to find ways of making more money, but a financial defense in the form of spending less is actually a better course of action.

How Does Strategic Tax Planning Help?

When you adopt strategic tax planning measures, you can keep more of the money your business makes. So, it makes sense to seize every available opportunity to save on the amount of tax you payout. There are many ways you can harness the power of legal Acts to write off expenses and to deduct payments that will reduce your tax burden considerably. Skilled tax planning consultants, such as the team at Corporate Business Solutions can advise you where these savings can be made.

How Does Wealth Management Work Alongside Strategic Tax Planning?

Wealth management and strategic tax planning work together for your business to yield maximum results. When you lower your company’s tax burden, you can achieve higher profits. As a result, you enjoy greater wealth. Experienced tax planning consultants can help you to use tax codes so that they work for you rather than against you.  With the greater profits that you reap, you can then plow that money back into your business, helping you to grow and expand, and, ultimately, to become even more profitable in the long-term.

Seeking Professional Advice

Many business owners, especially those running small businesses, view taxes as a necessary evil. They have a lot to do and a lot to think about when it comes to running an organization. Often, tax payments sit on the back burner and just get paid year after year. However, we all know that taxes are a major expense for any organization. This is why it makes sense to switch your focus and to put more effort and energy into strategic tax planning so that you can save money where it can most easily be saved. With the right tax planning advice, you can immediately reduce your tax burden and, so, instantly increase your company’s profitability. The Corporate Business Solutions team is here to offer you an expert strategic tax planning service that will lower the amount of tax you pay and boost your company’s profits in one fell swoop.

 

What is Your Business Leadership Style?

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he leadership of any organization is about creating direction, not only for the company itself but for its people. However, there isn’t a single style of successful business leadership. Which one works best for each company will depend on the people working for it, and which style helps them to be most productive.

One of the questions that Corporate Business Solutions consultants are often asked is what is the benefit of different styles of leadership, so here, we take a closer look at some of the most commonly seen styles and why they can prove to be successful.

Autocratic Leaders

Autocratic leaders rely on their own judgment and intuition rather than taking advice from other people. They can prove to be extremely effective when quick decision-making and immediate action are necessary. However, the autocratic leadership style is now seen as outdated, with many younger workers preferring autonomy in the workplace. Companies that wish to attract the most self-motivated and skilled workers should avoid this form of leadership and lean more towards a managerial style that allows workers to give their own input into the organization’s direction.

Laissez-Faire Leaders

This type of leader removes themselves intentionally from the process of making decisions, preferring to put their trust in their workers. While the laissez-faire leader stays in overall control, they allow their team to choosing the best way of getting the work done. This style of leadership works very well in creative organizations, but it requires a motivated and independent workforce. In a sector with little room for creativity and tight deadlines, a different leadership style may be more effective.

Transformational Leaders

This is a popular leadership style today, with these leaders having a strong organizational culture and leading their workers through their own example. They inspire and motivate their employees to work for the company’s overall success and encourage innovation that transforms the business’s future. While this is an effective form of leadership, it’s important to watch out for employee burnout if they’re always under pressure to perform.

Motivational Leaders

This leadership style is common in both business and sports, with leaders being able to motivate workers to go above and beyond. By using a range of methods including humor, positive reinforcement and getting to know their workers personally, these leaders are hands-on. Some workers, however, prefer more freedom and space as they are already very motivated.

Transactional Leaders

These leaders use the carrot and stick method of leadership in their company, with a long list of regulations and rules and a strong focus on results. Rather than motivating workers, these leaders focus on the structures and systems in place to reward employees. This style of leadership is very successful in major international corporations needing heavy oversight and in the military. It doesn’t work well in creative industries where experimentation is key to success.

Bureaucratic Leaders

This is an old leadership style relying on strict regulations and rules for the governorship of the organization. Bureaucratic leaders have power due to their position and not their personality and have less focus on individuals than on the organization’s structure. As a result, their company is run predictably and efficiently but without employee input, although their skills are well-used so they can make a strong impact and enjoy excellent job satisfaction.

Charismatic Leaders

A charismatic leader displays complete confidence in themselves while exhibiting a glowing personality capable of attracting followers with ease. They can easily connect with others and are dedicated to finding effective business solutions with an optimistic attitude that inspires employees. Although this leadership style is effective, the organization can suffer significantly if the leader takes time off or leaves the company completely.

Leading Effectively For Organizational Success

As you can see, there are many different leadership styles, each one with its advantages and disadvantages. The key to success is to determine the needs of both your organization and your workforce, then tailoring your managerial style to meet those needs.

 

 

Seven Expert Tips to Prevent Business Fraud

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Fraud prevention in the business world is more important than ever before. There are now even more opportunities to defraud businesses, so having a strong fortification for your organization against all the conditions that may facilitate fraud in your workplace is essential. With this in mind, here are seven expert tips that will stand you in good stead to protect your reputation, your profits and your business success.

Implementing A Top To Bottom Anti-Fraud Program

The first step to success when it comes to taking anti-fraud measures in your organization is to ensure that the program you choose is implemented from the top to the bottom. This is the best way to create a culture of fairness and honesty at every level of your company. A robust program begins with an ethical code, signed by every employee. It also encompasses anti-fraud policies, internal controls, training, and employee surveys carried out periodically to determine how much employees believe that their managers act with integrity and honesty.

Taking Anti-Fraud Training

Employees should receive hands-on, practical training to educate them about how fraud can be detected. They should be made aware of what they should be looking for, how the internal controls function and how any incidences of fraud should be reported.

Implementing Clear Methods Of Reporting

Over half of all fraud cases in the workplace are reported by workers. Therefore, implementing a clear and simple way to report fraud couldn’t be more important. Whether you put in place a web form, a dedicated email or a fraud hotline, you need to ensure every employee knows how to report suspected fraud.

Proactive Detection Methods

Anti-fraud efforts should be at the forefront of any organization. You should regularly send out messages to your team, conduct surprise audits, perform regular account reconciliations, and implement monitoring software that will detect any anomalies. In our Corporate Business Solutions reviews, we find that those companies that take on board the advice of our Certified Fraud Examiners to put in place proactive solutions find it quicker and easier to weed out fraudulent behavior than those businesses that rely solely on passive methods.

Internal Controls And Strong Auditing

Putting in place both strong internal controls and a robust auditing team can make an enormous difference. The auditing team must have sufficient authority and adequate resources to allow them to function effectively without any undue managerial influence. These internal controls should include:

  • External auditing of financial statements
  • Putting in place an internal auditing department
  • Managerial certification of all financial statements
  • External auditing of financial reporting internal controls
  • Reporting hotlines
  • Management reviews
  • Having an anti-fraud policy and an ethical code
  • Job rotations

Safe Hiring Practices

You should always be carrying out background checks when hiring new staff. Pay close attention to their criminal background, their references, and their credit reports to ensure fraud is prevented.

Put Employee Support Programs In Place

There are many reasons why employee support programs have proven to be valuable, however, when it comes to fraud in the workplace, they are effective in addressing many of the issues that result in “red flag behaviors”. When employees can speak freely about their addictions, their money worries or their financial problems, they can alleviate those issues before they lead to a destructive pattern of fraudulent behavior.

Limiting Your Fraud Losses

Limiting your fraud losses is vital if your company is to remain profitable. Here at Corporate Business Solutions, our team of Certified Fraud Examiners can help you to address fraudulent behavior within your organization so you can maximize your profits and limit your losses.

Own A Business? You May Need A Wake-Up Call

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Many business owners are highly focused on the day-to-day running of their enterprise. That isn’t too surprising – running any company is a challenge that throws up constant issues to be addressed. However, it’s important to remember not to spend all of your time focusing on the here-and-now. Yes, it’s important to forge new networking links, to improve customer service and to grow your bottom line. Yet, it’s also very important to plan an exit strategy for the future.

The Exit Strategy – Important Yet Overlooked

Running a business is, all-too-often, a life-consuming task. If you’ve just launched a start-up, or if you’re a few years down the line into establishing your thriving company, probably the furthest thing from your mind is how you’re eventually going to leave the organization that you’re working so hard to build up. However, this is quite worrisome, considering that, on average, around 80-90% of your net worth could be tied up in your company.  If you’re going to work for decades to create a valuable organization, you need to plan for how that value can be harvested when you’re ready to move on to pastures new.

The Key Statistics

For the average business owner, around 90% of their net worth will be tied up within their business, yet around half have absolutely no plans in place for exiting the company that they’ve built up. This leaves a difficult situation when the times come to move on. Whether you’re keen to retire and enjoy the fruits of your labor or whether you’re ready to embrace a new and exciting challenge, the reality could be that it could be harder to get out of your existing company than you ever imagined.

Over half of all business owners have sold their business in mind as their exit strategy of choice, with over 40% of them considering doing this within the next 5 years. Yet, it’s likely that they could find numerous obstacles in their way when they get around to putting their company on the market, and they’re also very likely to be unhappy when they finally make the sale. Even those who want to keep their business in the family face a host of issues when it comes to sharing out ownership amongst several potential heirs.

In short, it seems that exiting any business can be fraught with difficulties, so there’s never been a better reason to start planning well in advance.

Beginning Exit Planning at An Early Stage

The team at Corporate Business Solutions recommends starting to deliberately consider Exit Planning as early as possible. It may even be best to beginning writing your exit plan before you even set up your company! Bear in mind that, to have the best chance of success, your process of exit planning should take somewhere between 4 and 10 years, so you need to leave enough time.

Why does it take so long? A good exit plan won’t just analyze your business and determine ways of strengthening it with your exit in mind, but it also bears in mind the owner’s financial and personal situation as well as their life plan once they’ve left the business. It takes calibration and time to align these factors.

So, don’t leave it too late to arrange the exit you want. When you’ve spent a lifetime building up a successful company you don’t want to throw it all away at the last hurdle. Seek professional help and start drawing up your plan today.