One of the first questions I ask a business owner who's starting to think about transition is: who do you see owning this business after you? A family member? A key employee? A competitor? A private equity firm? Someone you haven't met yet?
Most owners haven't thought that far. They know they want to "exit someday." But the question of who comes next - and how the ownership actually changes hands - determines almost everything else about the planning process. Including how much time you have.
The timelines are not the same
Salt Creek Advisory published a useful guide this summer walking through the five primary exit paths for private business owners. The difference in required runway between them is significant and almost entirely overlooked.
A third-party sale - a strategic buyer or a private equity firm - can move from decision to closing in six to twelve months once the company is prepared. The operative phrase is "once the company is prepared." That preparation is its own multi-year process, but the actual transaction, once initiated, moves relatively quickly.
A family succession is an entirely different undertaking. Developing the next generation of leadership, putting governance structures in place, managing the family dynamics around ownership and control - that process often needs five to ten years to do properly. Owners who wait until they're ready to step back to start that conversation are almost always starting too late.
An ESOP, a management buyout, an internal succession to a key employee - each path has its own timeline, its own financial structure, its own tax implications, and its own set of things that need to be true about the business before it can work.
The decision you're actually making
I am not suggesting you need to have this all figured out today. I am suggesting that the choice of exit path is not something to leave until the planning is already underway - because the path shapes the plan, and starting down the wrong one costs time you can't get back.
Owners who choose well are the ones who clarify their objectives before evaluating their options. What do they want their life to look like after the business? Do they want a clean break or a gradual transition? Is legacy and continuity important, or is maximizing the financial outcome the primary goal?
Until those questions are answered, comparing exit paths is like comparing routes without knowing where you're going.
Timing and fit are deliberate decisions
Salt Creek makes a point worth repeating: timing and advisor fit are decisions you make deliberately, not defaults you accept by waiting. The owners who do best treat exit planning as work that starts years before any transaction — and they choose advisors based on real involvement and fit, not firm size or a cold call.
If you're in the $2M to $15M range and haven't had a serious conversation about which path makes sense for you - given your goals, your timeline, and what the business actually looks like today - that conversation is worth having now. Give me a call and we'll start with the personal side first.