Form Your Advisory Team:

Alice Jackson managed Attentive Detail, six auto detailing shops that were founded by her father. An accountant by education, Alice enjoyed being a part of a family-owned small business. Her father experienced a heart attack and decided to transition the business to Alice. He requested that Alice either keep the business and grow it or sell it for the best price she could get. Alice decided to form a selling advisory team. Locate an attorney and an accountant with experience in selling small businesses like yours.

Alice contacted Miles Winter, Attentive's accountant and long-time family friend. A veteran CPA, Miles's small business experiences fit the profile Alice was looking for. Miles suggested that Alice contact Richard Downing, a lawyer in a local law firm where Miles was a board member. Downing was a skilled attorney, experienced in small business matters, well respected and known in the local business community. Identify other advisors. Alice included her father on her selling advisory team. She felt his understanding of the business and his contacts in the industry would be critical to finding a buyer and negotiating a good deal. She decided not to work with a business broker because she thought she could locate a buyer from her father's network of professional contacts and work with her advisory team through the sale process. Prepare your advisors. After identifying her team members, Alice briefed each of them on her planned exit strategy. Her advisors suggested several potential buyers and offered to help Alice select and approach a buyer when the time was right. Alice's father was particularly helpful in identifying aspects of Attentive Detailing that needed to be improved before the company could be put up for sale. Write your message here, or input keywords and click the AI button to generate a message. #TGIF