For owners planning an exit
You can't plan around a number nobody has ever calculated.
A defensible valuation of your business — the figure your exit plan, your estate plan, and your tax strategy all quietly depend on.
In Drew’s Words
Business Valuation
Simply Explained
For most owners, the business is the largest asset on the balance sheet and its value is an estimate. That estimate ends up driving retirement projections, buy-sell agreements, gifting decisions, and eventually a sale — all resting on a number nobody ever calculated.
A valuation replaces the estimate. It establishes what the business is worth today on a documented basis, using methods that hold up to IRS review, a lender's underwriting, or a buyer's diligence.
Because the financial plan is built alongside it, the valuation doesn't sit in a drawer. It feeds directly into your retirement income plan, your estate documents, and the tax strategy around an eventual exit.
How It Works
Purpose first
We agree on what the valuation is for — exit planning, gifting, buy-sell funding, or estate work — because purpose determines the standard of value applied.
Analysis
Financial history, industry comparables, and company-specific risk are reviewed with a credentialed valuation professional to establish a supportable range.
Written report
You receive documentation you can hand to a CPA, attorney, lender, or buyer without caveats.
Integration
The number is carried into your retirement income, tax, and estate planning rather than filed away until the next transaction.
Who this is for
- Owners within five to ten years of an exit who have never had the business formally valued
- Owners funding a buy-sell agreement, gifting ownership interests, or planning around estate tax exposure
- Owners whose retirement plan currently assumes a sale price no one has verified
Who this isn’t for
- Pre-revenue or very early-stage businesses without the financial history a valuation depends on
- Owners who need a quick informal estimate rather than documentation that will withstand scrutiny
Questions
Why does the purpose of a valuation change the number?
Different purposes call for different standards of value. A valuation prepared for gift and estate reporting uses fair market value and may apply discounts for lack of control or marketability; one prepared for a strategic sale considers what a specific buyer would pay. Same business, legitimately different figures — which is why the purpose is agreed before the work starts.
How often should a business valuation be updated?
Generally every two to three years, and immediately after any material change — a large customer gained or lost, a shift in profitability, a partner buy-in, or a change in the ownership structure. A valuation used for estate or gifting purposes may need to be closer to the transaction date.
Who actually performs the valuation?
The valuation work is performed by a credentialed valuation professional. Our role is to define the purpose, coordinate the engagement, and make sure the resulting number is integrated into your financial, tax, and estate planning instead of being treated as a standalone document.
Related services
Planning rarely stops at one decision. These are the pieces that most often sit alongside business valuation.
- Cash Balance Planning
For business owners over fifty with more than $200,000 in annual profit who can put six figures a year toward retirement — tax-deductible, on a defined schedule.
- MSO Deferral Plans
Nonqualified deferred compensation structured through a management services organization — for owners whose income far outruns what qualified plans can shelter.
- Estate & Trust Planning
Wills, trusts, and beneficiary designations coordinated with your actual financial plan — reviewed and implemented under one roof alongside our legal counsel, not left to gather dust.