The Art of Exit Strategy: How Chuck and Brian Mohler Master Business Worth for Seamless Transitions

1. How do you and the team at Eagle Corporate Advisors integrate your expertise in value acceleration with your collaborative approach to help business owners prepare for a successful and sustainable exit?

At Eagle Corporate Advisors, we bring a passion for helping business owners achieve their dreams, focusing on value enhancement as the cornerstone of our approach. We play a crucial role in preparing business owners for their exits by assessing the current value of the business and working diligently to enhance that value, ensuring a smooth and successful transition. On the personal side, we make sure business owners have clear plans for life after the exit, both emotionally and financially. This often involves bringing in a financial advisor to ensure the owners have sufficient funds, net of taxes and debt, to sustain their post-exit lifestyles.

What sets us apart is our emphasis on value acceleration. We focus on preparing the business to be worth more, growing its value, and making sure it’s transferable. This approach ensures the business is not only more valuable but also ready for transition. Additionally, our goal is to help business owners transform and streamline all areas of their businesses—from mission and vision to market and operational drivers—thereby growing transferable value.

Collaboration is a cornerstone of our practice. We collaborate closely with other advisors, taking the time to get to know them and understand how to work together effectively. Whether through creating white papers, hosting events, or sharing data and progress checks, we ensure everyone stays aligned throughout the engagement process. Trust is key in this collaboration, given the deeply personal nature of a business to its owner. We’ve built strong relationships with a network of expert professionals, including attorneys, bankers, CPAs, financial advisors, insurance consultants, IT specialists, and marketing gurus. This extensive collaboration network allows us to help businesses grow effectively.

2. When do you find it most beneficial to start working with business owners, and how does your approach adapt if you're brought in later in the process?

We aim to get involved with business owners as early as possible, ideally from the very start of their business journey. We operate on the principle of "begin with the end in mind," which allows us to provide support from day one. However, we’re flexible and can step in at any point in the business cycle, adapting our approach to the specific needs of the business.

The "sweet spot" for our involvement is typically three to five years before the planned exit or transition. This timeframe allows us to effectively implement our value acceleration process and maximize the business’s growth. Whether we are the ones building the relationship and bringing in other professionals or being brought in by others, our focus remains on preparing the business for a successful future.

3. How do you help business owners navigate the challenges they face during the exit planning process?

One of the most common challenges business owners face is losing sight of why they started their business and failing to plan for the future. Many owners are stuck working in the business instead of working on the business and lack a clear direction for the next three to five years. This often leads to misalignment within the team, with everyone heading in different directions.

We help by getting everyone on the same page and tackling the business's weaknesses—whether those are in operations, finance, sales, or marketing. We help owners understand the various gaps in their business, such as the profit gap, value gap, and wealth gap. By identifying these gaps, owners can make informed decisions about whether they are ready to exit or need to focus on growing the value of their company first. We guide business owners in strategizing and implementing improved processes across all fundamental areas of the enterprise.

4. How do you prepare an owner for the responsibilities they will face once their business has been sold and it must be integrated into the acquiring company?

We help business owners come to terms with the reality that once their business is sold, they will no longer have control over it. Their “baby” is now leaving them, and the new owner will have full rights to make changes, even if those changes don’t align with the former owner’s vision.

We stress the importance of having a post-sale game plan, preparing owners for the possibility that, even if they stay on for a few years, they are now employees rather than the boss. This shift in dynamics can be significant, and we help owners mentally and emotionally prepare for this change.

We also track how much time the owner spends away from the business before the sale. The more time they spend on activities outside of work, the easier it is for them to transition and view the business as just another source of income rather than an identity. The more they fill their lives with activities and a lifestyle away from the business, the easier it becomes to see the business as simply another cash flow in their income stream.

5. What are best practices you see related to integration?

When involved pre-transaction, we use the value acceleration methodology to optimize the business by focusing on eight key areas: planning, leadership, sales, marketing, operations, people, finance, and legal. By improving these areas, we grow the business’s value, making it easier to run and more profitable. This optimization also makes post-transaction integration smoother, as the business is already functioning efficiently.

If we’re involved on the buy-side after the transaction, we conduct an assessment to understand the business and identify which levers can be pulled to optimize it for the new owner. We caution against making changes too quickly, as this can alienate employees who are not yet familiar with the new leadership. It’s often better to let the business run as it is for six months to a year, building trust, respect, and confidence within the team before making gradual changes.

We also emphasize the importance of understanding and aligning company cultures during integration. Even businesses in the same industry can have vastly different cultures. Without alignment in values and direction, integration can fail. Strategic planning and communication are essential to ensuring that both teams work together smoothly during the integration process.

Chuck Mohler Professional Bio:

Known for helping people achieve their dreams, Chuck has more than 30 years of experience in business operations, consulting businesses, real estate lending, trust management, and trust deed investments. Chuck draws on his vast experience and broad knowledge base to assist business professionals who realize the value of a highly experienced outside expert. Chuck brings a unique dedication to the success of others.

Brian Mohler Professional Bio:

Brian is passionate about serving middle market businesses and strives to support their ambitions with new insights. Applying his education and experience, Brian implements innovative processes yielding excellent outcomes. Prior to joining Eagle Corporate Advisors, Brian developed his talents serving companies of all sizes, including small main street shops to large publicly traded corporations, gaining an appreciation for long-term relationships and for pursuing the goals of his clients.

Disclosure: Information presented herein is for discussion and illustrative purposes only. The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the interviewees and may not necessarily reflect the views of Morton Wealth. The above information may not be representative of the experiences of other clients, and do not provide a guarantee of future success or similar services.