Financial Guidance: The Call Every Business Owner Gets (and Most Aren’t Ready For) — Featured in GUCA’s Underground Connection.

By John McAlister - View the GUCA article

Business owners today are getting more inbound interest than ever before. Calls, emails, introductions from private equity groups, strategic buyers, and investors seem to come out of nowhere. At first, it feels great. Someone sees value in what you’ve built.

But here’s the part most people don’t realize that first call matters a lot more than it seems, and most owners are not ready for it.

That First Conversation Isn’t Casual

When a buyer reaches out, they are not just “kicking the tires.” They are starting a process. And how you handle that initial conversation can influence everything that follows, from valuation to deal structure to whether you even want to move forward.

A lot of owners go in unprepared. They overshare. They answer questions they should not. Or they assume selling is the only path in front of them.

It isn’t.

You Have More Options Than You Think

One of the biggest mistakes business owners make is thinking the only outcome is selling to an outside buyer. There are several ways to transition your business, and the right one depends on your goals, your timeline, your future income needs, and what you want your legacy to look like.

Third Party Sale (Private Equity or Strategic Buyer)

This is what most people think of first. It can provide liquidity and sometimes help the business grow faster with additional resources. But it also usually means giving up some level of control and adapting to new expectations.

ESOP (Employee Stock Ownership Plan)

An ESOP allows you to sell to your employees through a trust. It can come with meaningful tax advantages and help preserve the culture you built. For owners who care about their team and legacy, this is often overlooked but worth serious consideration.

Management or Partner Buyout

If you have a strong leadership team or partners, this can be one of the smoothest transitions. The people taking over already know the business, the clients, and the culture. These deals are often structured over time, which can give you greater flexibility while keeping continuity in place.

Buy Sell Agreements

If you already have partners, a formal buy-sell agreement can define how ownership transitions happen. This removes uncertainty and can prevent major issues down the road.

Family Succession

Passing the business to children or family members, sometimes at a discounted value, can be a great way to keep things in the family while also managing taxes. That said, it needs to be thought through carefully to avoid putting pressure on the business or the relationships.

Recapitalization

You do not have to sell everything. Many owners sell a portion of the business, take some money off the table, and continue running the company. This provides you with liquidity now, and reducing the financial uncertainty while still participating in future growth.

A Few Things You Should Never Overlook

If you are receiving inbound interest, keep these in mind:

Do not send financials without protection

Never share financials, tax returns, or sensitive data without a signed NDA. Once that information is out, you cannot control where it goes or how it is used.

Be thoughtful about what you say early on

Buyers are trained to ask questions in a way that benefits them. If you do not have a clear story about your business, you can end up reacting instead of leading the conversation.

Know your value before someone else tells you

The first number you hear is rarely the best one. Without preparation, it is easy to anchor to a valuation that may not reflect what your business is worth in the marketplace.

Build the right team early

Your CPA and attorney are important, but transactions like this often require more specialized guidance. The earlier you have the right people involved, the better your outcome tends to be.

Not every buyer is the right buyer

Just because someone reaches out does not mean they are serious or a good fit. Some are gathering information. Some are exploring. You should be evaluating them just as much as they are evaluating you.

Preparation Changes Everything

The owners who have the best outcomes are not the ones who got lucky.

They are the ones who prepared.

They understand their options.

They know what their business is worth.

They control the process instead of reacting to it.

And they make decisions based on their long-term goals, not pressure in the moment.

Why the Right Guidance Matters

This is not just about selling a business. It is about making one of the biggest financial and personal decisions of your life.

That is where working with the right advisor makes a difference.

At The Beringer Group, the focus is not on pushing a transaction. As fiduciaries, the responsibility is to act in your best interest. That means helping you understand all your options, building a strategy around your goals, and guiding you through the process with clarity and objectivity.

Sometimes the best decision is to sell. Sometimes it is not. The key is to make the right decision for you and your goals. John McAlister will be speaking at the GUCA Summer conference in Sarasota next month. He will speak about your various options to Keep, Sell, or Grow your family enterprise. His team will provide a binder with all available options and a discussion of each in greater detail as a parting gift for those who attend the session.