The Intersection of Business, Personal and Financial Planning

Mitch Fenimore, MBA, CEPA®, Senior Vice President and Lancaster Market Leader, oversees our new Business Planning practice and works with business owners to help them integrate business planning with their personal and financial planning. Mitch recently achieved accreditation as a Certified Exit Planning Advisor (CEPA®) to complement his background in investment banking and consulting. "Exit Planning" is not the same as going through an exit. Exit planning can be done at any time, even if the anticipated exit or transition is many years down the road. All the efforts taken to prepare the business for an exit are beneficial today and build value for the future.

A business owner's largest asset is often their business. Our Business Planning practice is equipped to provide advice for business owners as they plan for their business and for their personal future. Whether it is a discussion over succession planning, or the value of the business, Mitch and the Business Planning team are available to have those conversations and provide guidance on the impact to your personal financial planning for life beyond the business.

As a first step, we suggest thinking through the questions below and then scheduling a meeting with Mitch to discuss your answers and determine the best path forward based on your big picture goals.

  • Who is the likely buyer/successor of the business - internal (child, management, employees) or external (private equity, strategic buyer)?

  • What is the value of the business?

  • Will a sale of the business yield sufficient funds to support my personal and financial goals?

  • Do I have the right group of advisors (accountant, attorney, business consultant, financial advisor)?

  • Is the business prepared for a transition? Could the business run without me?

  • What are the three things I could do to improve the business?

  • What is the ideal timeline to transition out of the business?

  • How prepared am I, the business owner, for a transition? What do I want to do with my next chapter?

Click here to email Mitch if you are interested in starting the conversation.

Rebecca Stevenson