Every generation - no, actually, every individual - has their own ideas about what work is, how much and for how long they want to work, and what retirement will look like for them. 

Which is why some days I’ll talk to a current owner who is 60+, never plans to completely stop working, and needs income from the business to fund their retirement while the future owner is in their 30s and sees work as a means to living the life they want, not a calling.

Or an owner who is in hospice and still booking new business while their successor wants to retire. 

Or an owner who isn’t ready to sell but is very eager to be out of direct client work and day-to-day operations while revenues can’t currently support new hires. 

Or a prospective client who chose the hard work of being an owner to have the freedom to ‘do things how and when I want to do them,’ but sees profits (and the freedom they bring) declining. 

The more in touch you are about what work is and what it means to you the more likely you are to 

You can start getting more comfortable with the ‘big’ questions related to work, retirement, your life’s purpose, and your legacy by asking yourself questions that shift your thinking from “who am I related to others?” to  “who am I at my core?” Try one of these: 

1. The "Who Am I?" Challenge

  1. What do these words reveal about you?
  2. Do they align with how you see yourself when you’re alone?
  3. If few words remain, what does that say about how you define yourself?
  1. If your list feels empty, what traits would you like to define you outside of relationships?
  2. How can you strengthen those aspects of yourself?

2. The Subtraction Method

3. The “What Would Stay?” Exercise

4. The Mirror Test

5. The “Five Lives” Exercise

6. The Inner Compass Test

Contact me to learn more about how Purpose First Advisors can help you get the most out of your business and plan for ‘what’s next.’

VoyageSTL Article

At the end of 2024, Voyage STL asked me to share my story for readers (link above.)

In my responses, I look the liberty of going back to the beginning, which for me is being born into a family business. Dee’s Florist was my grandfather’s dream and my dad’s occupation.

My dad was one of those business owners who planned as far out as the next big sales cycle - think Valentine’s Day, Mother’s Day, and Christmas. He wasn’t an innovator. He didn’t change with the times. He ran the business the best he could for as long as he could.

When he died, there wasn’t much for the next generation because it wasn’t built for us. It was built to be an income source for my dad and our family. As such, in a less than orderly fashion, the business was dissolved more than a decade ago.

My family business experience was profoundly impactful in my life. It created some amazing memories and wonderful experiences. And it was the setting for some hardship, hurt feelings, and heartache.

There’s nothing wrong with wanting to run a business that creates the lifestyle you want and ceases operations when you are ready to be done working. In those circumstances you plan and execute an orderly dissolution.

What is problematic is running a business that

All business owners WILL EXIT their business eventually.

Even if you plan to leave the details to your executor, you owe it to them to have a well designed plan with all the legal and financial documents in order to take care of the business of your business when you’re gone.

So go ahead, work forever. But please do so

  1. In a way that allows you to generate the income, savings and personal freedom you deserve to live the life you love, and
  2. With an emergency succession plan (for the ‘what if’s’ of life) and a thorough, professional estate plan.

Learn more about how we can help you get the most out of your business and plan for the future to protect and grow what you have and the people you love.

Run Your Own Race

Trying to scare you into planning for your business exit is pointless.

And inspiring you to plan is almost as hard.

So why might you want to think about your end-game now?

Control.

Most business owners I know want to be in control - of their money, time, business, future.

How better to control future outcomes than to control how you build your business NOW so it will serve your needs LATER.

Freedom.

With each additional dollar in free cash flow and profit you generate, you increase the number of choices you can make - from new hires to a family vacation.

Choice = Freedom.

Winning.

No business owner has - ever - bragged about how they were forced to sell, got pennies on the dollar for their business, created a mess for their family, or declared bankruptcy.

Winning isn't bragging about how you increased revenue YOY or that you still put in 60-70 hour weeks after doing this for 20 years. It's exiting on your own terms.

Only 30% of the business that go to market will sell.

Successful exits are designed.

Ready to join the 69% of business owners who identified 'exit planning' as one of their top priorities?

Our process includes:

Learn more about how a business growth strategy designed to increase income AND improve valuation is the bet way to grow.

Design your business to meet your goals

It’s a sunny Sunday morning on the last weekend in August and 5-6 people are queued up at the entrance to our local bookstore waiting for the doors to open.

Before the clerk can turn the key and fully open the door, an older woman made her way through the half-open door while very loudly proclaiming “It must be nice to have people waiting at your door to buy things from you.”

As she sweeps past the young woman who’s now holding the door open for other shoppers, her comment hangs in the air like an accusation, not a compliment.

“It Must Be Nice” always sounds accusatory, with a tinge of jealousy and dismissiveness mixed in. It implies that someone is enjoying an unearned or perhaps fair privilege compared to the rest of us and should feel contrite about it.

Perhaps someone has said something like this to you

How did it make you feel?

Not great right? But why?

Why are they trying to make you feel bad about what you worked so hard to achieve? And why do you feel the need to defend yourself or explain how hard it was to get where you are?!

The thing is, just because you are able to enjoy those things - less worry, a flexible schedule, financial freedom, peace of mind - doesn’t diminish anyone else's capacity to have the SAME THING. Anyone can build a business that fulfills their personal, business and financial goals.

Most people never do.

The best, perhaps only, response to ‘It Must Be Nice’ is, ‘Thanks, yes it is.’

If you’re looking at your peers and ‘It Must Be Nice’ is creeping into your thoughts, it might be because your business is running you, you’re not running it.

A business that fulfill your deepest desires requires a future-focus, intentional planning, and relentless execution. What’s NICE to have or be didn’t just happen for those owners - it was earned. Ideally, it was earned through a combination of clarity, intention, consistency, delegation, leadership and personal accountability and not through brute force or a belief that success requires sacrifice and suffering.

If you feel some resentment fueling your feeling that ‘It Must Be Nice,’ I suspect your 'keep your head down, nose to the grindstone, work harder, and make more sacrifices for an eventual payoff approach' isn’t working for you anymore.

Likewise, if you have been able to hit some of the ‘It Must Be Nice’ milestones but you did it at great personal cost - to your physical and mental health, finances, relationships - and feel like you just can’t summon the strength to do the next push,

You don’t have to.

What got you here doesn’t have to be and may not be able to get you where you are going.

Even if it can, you can choose another way.

That’s what we do at Purpose First Advisors - we help you build a business that will make you say things like “It’s SO Nice to”

Learn more about how our growth coaching and consulting services can help you spend more time on white sandy beaches (or on ski slopes, whichever you prefer!) and less time in conference rooms.

Succession planning excites me!

Seriously, I love having things organized.

I also love a good contingency plan so that IF/when things go sideways the people who count on me aren't left floundering. 

If you love feeling

- prepared

- confident 

- organized 

- ahead of the curve

Then succession planning will be a very satisfying experience!

For those new to the experience, I recommend starting with an emergency plan. This covers the 'what if' situations that you can't possibly foresee, are highly unlikely but could happen. 

It's like an insurance plan - it creates peace of mind but without an annual premium!

Getting started

An emergency succession plan covers 3 scenarios:

1. Unplanned, extended absences

2. Planned, extended absences 

3. Permanent disability or death

Starting with scenarios 1 and 2,

Think about 

- WHO you want and who is capable of running your business on your behalf as an acting executive. Who shares and embodies your vision? Who knows the business of your business and can make sure everything is working to maintain a profitable operation until you return? Who will the rest of the team respect and follow?

You'll also want to talk to that person to make sure they are comfortable being designated for that role.

- WHAT needs to be done to keep things running. What things do you do? Does anyone else know how to do them? What might they need to do and do well for an extended period of time without your input or oversight?

- HOW things will keep moving while you're gone. Is process documentation complete and updated regularly (especially of things you do and are responsible for)? Has your acting executive been trained on your duties and have the opportunity to do them independently? Do they have the permission and access to all documents, systems and relationships needed to act on your behalf (passwords, bank signing privileges, payroll or accounting systems, key advisors and professional service providers, etc.)

For scenario number 3, you need to take the additional steps of making sure to

1. Include your business in your estate plans. It's a good idea to make sure your estate planning and legal counsel are on the same page regarding succession plans and the legal documentation needed for things to go the way you want them to when the time comes. They might talk to you about financial power of attorney for the business, creating a trust, reviewing your operating and buy sell agreements, etc. 

2. Talk to your executor so they know your intentions for the business. 

3. Leave instructions for the acting executive re: contacting and working with your estate. 

So where's the exciting part?! 

The Ultimate Win-Win

I hope that as you think about preparing for the scenarios that might unexpectedly take you away from your business you get excited about creating a near-term plan that takes things off your plate. 

Training your team to operate without you can immediately improve your freedom, flexibility and level of ownership autonomy. There is no need to wait for a worst case scenario to put your plan into practice. 

When your business can but doesn't have to run without you, you truly get to experience the benefits and privileges of ownership. And you can achieve this level of delegation and independence in a way that 

- empowers your team,

- reduces risk and concern about business continuity (people like job security!),

- retains your levels of ownership and control, and

- increases the transferability and value your business.

Purpose First Advisors specializes in helping business owners create succession plans that de-risk your business while increasing value and personal freedom.

You probably think you only need to get a business valuation when you need to value the asset in a divorce or when preparing for a sale.

What if it became one of your annual measurements of the financial health, strategic direction, and overall performance of your business?

What if regularly monitoring your valuation metrics helped you dial in and amp up your growth strategies and tactics through an additional lens, one that looks at value and wealth creation in addition to income and profitability?

How might you approach your decision-making differently even if you never plan to sell?

Here’s my take on why adding an annual valuation to your growth planning can be a game changer for your business and your family:

1. Close Your Wealth Gap

Have you ever wondered if all your hard work will actually pay off some day? An annual valuation acts as a clear indicator of whether your efforts, investments and sacrifices are yielding long-term value. Your Wealth Gap is a key metric a valuation can help you benchmark and measure over time. Your Wealth Gap is calculated by subtracting your current net worth (not including the value of the business) from your wealth goal (usually a retirement or lifestyle goal). Usually the only way to close that gap is to build and extract (i.e., sell) that value from your business. 

Not surprisingly, this metric ties into having a clear vision for ‘What’s Next’ for you and your business. Decisions like whether to retain ownership and/or to keep working in your business depend on what you want to do with the rest of your life. If you need more money to achieve your personal and financial goals, then it makes sense to plan to grow your business in ways that increase its value so you can make the most of this investment. By tracking your business’ valuation over time, you can measure how effectively your business is contributing to your personal net worth. 

2. Close Your Profit Gap

In a valuation process, Purpose First Advisors will plot your business on a range of multiples for your specific industry. Using our Business Attractiveness and Owner Readiness assessments we’ll evaluate where your business ranks compared to best-in-class competitors. By benchmarking where your business falls on the range of values you can determine your Profit Gap - the amount of profit your business could be generating if it performed like its best-in-class peers.   

When you hone in on where inefficiencies exist and improvements can be made your growth plan becomes more focused and effective. Your growth plan becomes a Value Acceleration process that increases value, wealth and profit. 

3. Close Your Value Gap

Plotting your business on a range of values reveals both the Profit and the Value Gap. If your profit is below that of your best in class industry competitors, then your value is lower too. There is a gap between the current value of your business and how it could be valued once value is increased. 

In addition to taking into account key financial metrics such as revenue, profitability, and cash flow, a Purpose First Advisor’s valuation will include intangible, but very real, drivers of value including the level of owner dependence, client concentration, process documentation, customer loyalty, and the strength of your team. Future prospective owners - internal and external buyers as well as family - will evaluate the health of the business using these criteria and an annual valuation is one of the best ways to assess your progress in identifying and preventing anything that can comprise the long-term health of your business. This clarity also transforms a growth plan into a Value Acceleration process designed to close all financial gaps. 

4. Be Prepared for a Business Sale or Succession

You are an investor in your business. Knowing your current valuation helps you understand how your investment is performing compared to other investments in your portfolio. Why is this important?

  1. If you want to pass your business on to your children, you want them to inherit a valuable asset, one that not only provides income but has value on the open market.
  2. If you are thinking about having a key employee(s) purchase the business, a valuation helps them understand the value of the investment they would be making and start the conversation about financing and tax planning sooner rather than later. 
  3. Sooner is also better if you think you might, one-day, want to sell to a third-party, you will want to know sooner.
  4. Opportunity may come knocking and you want to be ready to evaluate unsolicited offers. 

5. Be Bankable

The saying goes, get credit before you need it. Your business valuation can be a key metric when securing a bank loan or financing. Lenders often look at the value of the business to assess creditworthiness. By tracking valuation as a KPI, you can maintain a good financial position to qualify for loans or lines of credit, especially when planning for growth or expansion.

Purpose First Advisors specializes in helping business owners Value Acceleration Plans that allow them plan and execute strategic growth. Start your FREE Business Valuation and 1-hour consultation here.

Jess Dewell and I do the “It’s Your Business” LinkedIn Livestream episodes of the #BoldBusinessPodcast to normalize conversations about the things business owners care about most.

Negotiation is one of those skills that most people feel they aren’t good at and they would prefer to avoid. If that describes the way you feel, this podcast is for you.

Negotiation is an essential life and business skill because at it’s core, it’s a communication style.

Being good at negotiation means that

  1. You know the purpose of your conversation and your desired end result.
  2. You’ve done your research and understand the people involved, their goals, and their communication styles.
  3. You are familiar with and actively use communication techniques that
    • Communicate empathy,
    • Make the listener feel heard through mirroring and labeling,
    • Telegraph your engagement through tone, style and body language,
    • Demonstrate active listening, and
    • Acknowledge the other sides objections.

By recognizing that you negotiate all the time at work, at home and at play, you can take every opportunity to practice this key skill. Practice will increase your confidence and ability to the point where negotiation strategies become second nature

As a result, it will become easier to find common ground with your employees, clients, and vendors as you negotiate changes in processes and procedures, contract terms, employment offers, KPI measurement and the like.

Purpose First Advisors specializes in helping business owners define their goals and negotiate favorable outcomes that produce their growth and valuation goals. Let us help you build, grow and exit your business  on purpose, with purpose.

Enterprise University Fall Courses

Two things need to be true before you embark on the journey to sell your business:

  1. You need to assess and work on your personal readiness to sell
  2. You need to clearly assess how attractive your business is to potential buyers

Why does personal readiness matter?

Well, nothing will tank a business deal faster than an owner who isn’t really sure they want to sell.

Without a clear plan for ‘what’s next,’ that includes a deep understanding of yourself separate and apart from being a business owner, you may undermine the whole process without even being aware of it. Knowing why you want to sell, what a ‘good’ sale will look like, and what you will do once you are no longer in the day-to-day of operations allows you to bring a clear head and open heart to what can sometimes be a long emotional process.

Business attractiveness also matters because, no surprise, different things appeal to different buyers.

I had dinner the other night with a buyer who looks for owner-operated businesses with about $1m in revenue. He’s currently closing a deal to acquire a firm that is struggling with profitability but adds a line of services his business has been missing and new customers to whom he can sell other services. He’s a strategic buyer in his industry.

Who are the strategic and financial buyers in your industry? What do they care about and look for?

Want to keep the business in the ‘family’ - children or key employees? What needs to true for them to want to finance a purchase that satisfies your financial needs and their need to run a sustainably profitable business moving forward?

Seen through the lens of your buyer, what’s most attractive about your business? What’s bringing down its marks? What can and will you work on before going to market?

Join me on October 17 at Enterprise University (virtual! free!) for more discussion and exploration of the concepts of personal readiness and business attractiveness for owners.

Purpose First Advisors specializes in helping business owners create succession and exit plans that allow them plan and execute strategic growth. Let us help you build, grow and exit your business  on purpose, with purpose.

There are lots of ways to make something grow.

So what do I mean by grow smart?

First, let’s think of your business as a living thing - a creature totally separate from you - that needs the right environment to grow.

It goes through seasons of sowing, reaping, harvesting, fallow or resting. Your business can’t constantly grow any more than you can constantly stay awake or not eat.

In fact, mature, profitable businesses are often built to sustain rather than grow. They get profitable by doing what they do really, really well, efficiently and consistently.

Growth requires intention, focus and resources.

It needs certain conditions - money, time, people, technology, systems and processes - aligned to a common purpose to produce the desired results.

Growth in one area might strain another, exasperate weaknesses or outpace the ability of the organization to sustain the growth over time.

Smart growth asks

As a strategic growth advisor, I want to understand your vision for your business - what is it designed to help you achieve in life? What’s the end game.? What choices do you want to have available to you if/when you decide you want to do less of this and more of something else?

Then I want to understand which of the growth strategies available to you helps you best achieve your near and long-term personal, business and financial goals?

Together we can evaluate which growth strategies are most appropriate given your time, money, people and other resources, set goals, identify tactics and create 90 day sprints.

As a succession and exit plan advisor, I want to know your value, wealth and profit goals so we can close the gaps that probably exist.

I want to help you design a growth plan that increases profit while building value.

I want to help you design a compensation and succession plan that helps you accumulate the wealth you need to replace your income (i.e. retire) whenever you desire, transfer your business (asset) to capable leaders, and create a legacy (family, community, values) makes an impact.

Purpose First Advisors specializes in helping business owners create strategic growth plans that enable them to create a life and legacy they love. Let us help you build, grow and exit your business  on purpose, with purpose.

Imagine being able to achieve anything you set your mind to, not because you have more hours in the day, but because you use the ones you have more effectively. This is the central theme of this episode of It's Your Business brought to you by the #BoldBusinessPodcast.

We all experience stress and periods of unproductivity. However, these can be minimized—or even avoided—by changing our relationship with time. By embracing what you can control and reframing your approach to productivity, you can create significant shifts in how you use your time to reach your personal, financial and business goals. This could mean saving time, finding time, or even bending time by making decisions with time as a key resource constraint.

Rewrite Your Script on Time Use

Explore the scripts or narratives you have about how you use your time. Your stories might center on the peer pressure surrounding productivity, what is a ‘good’ or a ‘bad’ use of time, a false sense of how much time certain activities require, no understanding the costs inherent in constantly switching activities, or the stigma of ‘wasting time.’ Recognizing these patterns can help you be accountable for your relationship with time.

Embracing the Finite Nature of Time

Time is the only truly finite resource we have. You have to come to terms with the limitations of a 24 hour day including the importance of sleep, reflection, and play. By maximizing the time available for specific tasks and the distance between where you are and your specific goals, you dramatically increase your capacity to to handle any challenge. An important exercise to consider is questioning the relevance of tasks to your end goals: Why does this matter right now? Why does this matter to your ultimate objectives?

Creativity Through Embracing Time Constraints

Creativity and innovation often stem from embracing time and prioritizing tasks. Learning to let go of less important tasks and aligning your interests and mission to your goals can enhance your effectiveness and creativity. This involves saying "yes" less often, setting clear expectations, and understanding the sequence of actions required to manage what you can't control. Assessing opportunity costs and levels of commitment can also provide clarity on how repeatable success is and what to do when time feels scarce.

Key Takeaways

1. Stop Using the Phrase “Find the Time”: Replace the notion of "finding time" with an understanding of how you currently view and utilize your time. Avoid comparing your time management to that of other business owners.

2. Plan with the End in Mind: Especially for longer-term goals, planning with the end in mind is crucial. This helps you stay focused and aligned with your ultimate objectives.

3. Your Choices Matter: Every choice you make regarding your time has significance. Be solid in your decisions and fully commit to them. This commitment and clarity can transform how you manage and value your time.

Conclusion

Mastering time management is not about having more hours in the day but about using the hours you have more effectively. By understanding the real costs of poor time management, embracing constraints, and prioritizing your tasks, you can achieve more with the time available to you. Remember, time is your most valuable resource—use it wisely, be accountable to it, and watch how these shifts lead to greater productivity and success.

Purpose First Advisors specializes in helping business owners choose the highest value priorities on which to focus their limited time and energy for maximum results. Let us help you build, grow and exit your business  on purpose, with purpose.

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  • Christy’s keen ability to identify my actual needs and focus me on the critical aspects of my business has been transformative. She’s provided insights and asked probing questions that emphasize the importance of planning with the end in mind.
    Stephanie Haenchen
    Owner, Pace Marketing
  • Christy’s coaching has has been instrumental in elevating my business to new heights. Her ability to facilitate strategic conversations has been transformative, helping me identify opportunities, overcome obstacles, and refine my business strategies for optimal results.
    Paya Sample
    Owner, Peak Leaders Collective
  • Christy took the time to assess my business model, understand my goals, and identify areas for improvement. What impressed me most was her ability to provide tailored strategies that were practical and immediately implementable.
    Sue Bailey
    Owner, Celebrating Life Cakes
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