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Photo of waiter Edsel Ford Fong with a group of joyous customers in 1982.

How to Save a Legacy Business: Lessons from Sam Wo’s Possible Closure

Sam Wo, a 115-year-old Chinatown institution, faces closure as its owner retires without a successor. This historic restaurant, known for its simple Cantonese dishes and colorful legacy, highlights the vital role of Exit Planning. With proper preparation, its future could have been secured, preserving its cultural significance. Can Sam Wo’s story inspire businesses to protect their legacies?

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Business Owner Pain Points

Transforming Owner Resistance into Opportunities with Proven Strategies

See how BEI helps professional advisors like you overcome owner objections to business planning conversations. When BEI engages with new and prospective professional advisors, some tell us about a common hurdle that prevents them from having the success they want: “Owners don’t want to talk about succession planning with me.” Even though advisors want to provide their important services and business owners know they should have a plan for their eventual business exits, there’s still resistance to the planning conversation. The reasons why business owners feel this way can be numerous. They may misinterpret Exit Planning as someone ripping them away from their businesses against their will. They may also think that developing a plan for transition will take up too much of their time.  While these reasons are the result of misunderstanding the point and process of Exit Planning, it doesn’t mean that advisors should disregard them as there is a large opportunity to capitalize on with owners just like this. Typically, advisors just need to frame the offer of talking about Exit Planning differently. One of the most effective ways to do this is for advisors to rely on their core expertise. Keep Planning Conversations in Your Wheelhouse All successful advisors have exceptional credentials in their respective professional fields. The obstacle that falls in their way is often related to balancing their technical expertise with the relationship-building skills necessary to become a successful advisor.  For many business owners, the idea of an advisor coming to them to talk about leaving their businesses can be jarring. After all, it’s likely that they see their businesses as an extension of themselves. So, having someone suggest that they should plan for when it’s time for that extension to go away can be confusing and even threatening. The way to overcome objections about business planning is for advisors to talk to owners in the owners’ language, using their core advisory expertise. For example, we recently spoke with a CPA who uses the BEI Premium License to attract, engage, and eventually develop a plan with clients. When this advisor first started out, he would open his planning discussions with both current and prospective clients by asking, “Would you like to talk about exiting your business?” Usually, business owners would decline. He started to get frustrated, so he reached out to BEI. We suggested that, at least initially, he focus on how his core expertise fits into succession planning rather than focusing on outright Exit Planning. This meant that rather than asking his clients if they’d like to specifically talk about leaving their businesses, he would ask them questions like, “What kinds of tax-minimizing retirement planning have you done?” or “How do you think taxes might affect you and your business when you eventually sell and retire?” These kinds of questions do two things: How BEI Helps Facilitate Planning Conversations One of the major benefits of BEI’s tools, strategies, and content licensing is that these aspects help advisors use their technical skills on a larger playing field. Exit Planning Advisors use their core expertise to open the conversation about Exit Planning on terms that both they and their business-owning clients understand and are comfortable with.  It’s easy for advisors to over leverage their expertise without asking themselves why owners would care about what they’re telling them. BEI helps advisors balance their technical expertise with the relationship-building skills they need to establish the Exit Planning conversation properly, resulting in success not only for the client, but for the advisor as well. From assessment tools and documented methods to show their expertise, to lists of questions to ask and access to advisors who have had proven success in breaking through resistance to Exit Planning, BEI knows how to help advisors start the Exit Planning conversation successfully.

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The Business Advisor’s First and Second Mistakes

Have you ever wondered why it’s difficult to attract successful business owners to your practice? After decades spent working with both advisors and owners, we’ve found that advisors who want to represent owners make two fundamental mistakes:

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How Advisors Can Differentiate Themselves: Taking the Burden Off the Owner

Business owners are a rare breed. In founding their businesses, they buck the trend of working for someone. They think differently, act differently, and succeed differently from most people. This means that when it comes to planning for a successful future, they also plan differently. They typically don’t want off-the-shelf advice that every other advisor offers them.

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Female Pioneers and the Role of Emotional Intelligence in Exit Planning

As we celebrate Women's History Month, it's a perfect opportunity to spotlight the lasting contributions of women in the financial sector! While navigating through the intricacies of the financial industry, women have not only shattered glass ceilings but have also introduced innovative approaches and perspectives that have enriched the industry. 

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Business Continuity Challenges for Sole-Owners

When advisors hear the words “business continuity planning,” their thoughts immediately turn to buy-sell agreements—the topic of a future article where we will dive into buy-sell agreements and suggest several seldom-discussed opportunities for advisors.

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Navigating Psychological Forces in Business Exits: Insights for Professional Advisors

In the realm of business exits, understanding the psychological mindset of business owners is paramount for professional advisors.

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Engaging Successful Business Owners is Easy!

It’s hardly news that that the most attractive market for your financial and insurance services and products are successful business owners. Yet, it can be difficult to attract and engage these owners as clients because they are laser-focused on their businesses.

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Championship Advisor Teams: A Super Bowl Strategy for Exit Planning

It’s Super Bowl Weekend! As the San Francisco 49ers get ready to take on the reigning champs in the Kansas City Chiefs, business owners around the country are looking to exit their businesses, but might not have the right resources to reach all of their goals at the time of their exit.

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The Power of Collective Expertise in The Business Value Conversation

Did you know that collaborative expertise can lead to a remarkable increase in business value? In today’s fast-paced and evolving business world, the synergy of collective knowledge isn’t just beneficial – it’s essential.

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