A practical guide to exit planning, company valuation, and maximizing value before a business sale
Barclay Damon announces the publication of Completing Your Legacy: Practical Tips to a Better Business Sale, a new ebook by Mike Moore, co-chair of the law firm’s Corporate Practice Area. The guide is designed to help business owners prepare for a future sale of their business and avoid the risks, value erosion, and missed opportunities that can result from delayed planning.
Every business owner will eventually exit their business, and for many owners, that exit will be a sale. Whether that sale occurs on the owner’s terms or under unexpected circumstances often depends on how early sale planning begins. Health events, burnout, family considerations, or unsolicited acquisition offers can arrive at any time, leaving unprepared owners negotiating from a position of pressure rather than strength.
The ebook explains how advance planning can help owners preserve business value, maintain leverage, and keep control over the timing and structure of a transaction. Through 13 concise, plain-English articles and a practical FAQ section, the guide addresses topics that include what buyers value most, how to respond to an unsolicited offer, preparing for diligence, assembling the right advisory team, and avoiding a distressed or rushed sale.
“Many successful business owners assume they have more time than they actually do,” said Moore. “Sale preparation is most effective when it begins well before the business goes to market. Early preparation gives owners more options, more leverage, and a better opportunity to maximize value.”
The ebook outlines several key steps owners can take before a transaction is on the horizon, including improving financial reporting, reducing owner dependence, addressing tax and deal-structure considerations, preparing for buyer diligence, and defining personal and business goals.
“Mike has a unique ability to translate complex business-sale concepts into practical guidance that owners can apply immediately,” said Andy Oppenheimer, who leads Barclay Damon’s Business Services Practice Group. “This ebook reflects Barclay Damon’s commitment to helping business owners protect what they have built and achieve successful exits that support their long-term objectives.”
This resource is intended for closely held, family-owned, owner-operated, and privately held businesses that are considering a future sale.
Completing Your Legacy: Practical Tips to a Better Business Sale is available as a complimentary download from Barclay Damon’s website, here.
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