Avoiding the 75%: Why So Many Owners Regret Selling Their Business
If you’re planning to sell your business someday, here’s a statistic worth sitting with: research from the Exit Planning Institute and PwC found that 75% of business owners feel “unhappy” or “profoundly unhappy” one year after exiting their company. Three out of four owners who worked hard to build something, then sold it or handed it off end up regretting how it turned out. That’s not a small problem. And it’s been true for over a decade, which tells you something: most exit planning still focuses almost entirely on the transaction, not on what happens to you after the deal closes. The real issue isn’t the money; it’s the identity loss If you’ve run a business for any length of time, your company isn’t just an asset. It’s woven into who you are. Your family may see you as the success story. Your friends, many of whom are probably your employees, envy that you don’t answer to a boss. Your community expects you (and your company) to show up and give more, because you’re “the owner.” Your business shapes your daily interactions, your standing among peers, and your sense of purpose. So when you sell or step away, it’s not simply a financial transition; it’s a personal one. Being introduced as a “former owner” or lumped in as “retired” can feel like erasure, not freedom. That disorientation is a huge part of why so many owners end up unhappy, even when the deal itself went well financially. Most owners don’t plan for what comes next Business owners are goal-driven. You’ve spent years chasing targets and clearing the next hurdle. Yet when it comes to planning life after your business, most owners are flying blind: only 17% have a written plan, and nearly half have no plan at all. Think about what that transition actually demands. You’re not just changing your income source, you’re losing: The steady stream of small wins that come from daily decision-making 40, 50, or 60 hours a week that used to be filled with purpose The satisfaction of building strategy, developing people, and steering a team If nothing replaces that, boredom, restlessness, and regret tend to fill the gap — regardless of how large the check was. What a good exit actually requires A successful exit isn’t just about maximizing sale price. It’s about walking into something you’re genuinely excited about — not just walking away from something familiar. That means thinking through, well before you sign anything: What does a fulfilling week look like without the business? What replaces the sense of purpose and decision-making you’re used to? Are your expectations about timing, value, and readiness realistic? Selling your business will likely be the largest financial event of your life. But it’s also one of the most significant identity shifts you’ll ever go through. The owners who avoid the 75% are the ones who plan for both. John F. Dini, CExP, CEPA is an exit planning coach and the President of MPN Incorporated in San Antonio, Texas. He is the publisher of the Awake at 2 o’clock blog and has authored three books on business ownership. The single largest transaction and transition of your life deserves special attention. Are you planning to exit and sell your business? Exit planning is quickly becoming a buzzword in the legal and financial communities. Your professional advisors position themselves to provide tax, risk management, wealth management, and contract preparation services. The BEST-PivotPoint Exit Plan Advisor is trained to manage your team of tax, legal, business, and financial planners as you navigate your exit strategy. Click here to learn more about how to get started. If you want to see how prepared you are for transition, take the 15-minute Assessment at no charge: One indisputable fact: 100% of owners will eventually exit their business. The Assessment is a multiple-choice questionnaire that does not ask for confidential or financial information. Nevertheless, it is a critical first step in starting the discussion and planning process. Click here for more information concerning our free, no-obligation exit planning assessment.
The Hidden Metric That Can Transform the Value of Your Business
Revenue matters. It gets you in the room with acquirers, it signals that customers want what you sell, and it is the foundation everything else is built on. But revenue alone does not make a business valuable. What often transforms a revenue story into a valuable business is gross margin: the difference between what you sell and what it costs you to make. Jeff Church learned this the hard way. He built Suja, a cold-pressed juice company, from zero to $120 million in revenue in about five years. He landed Whole Foods as his anchor retailer, won their supplier of the year award out of fifty thousand vendors, and attracted investment from Coca-Cola at a $300 million valuation. Then Coke walked away from their option to buy the rest of the business. Jeff found out on the eve of July 4th. He walked downstairs to where his kids and wife were waiting and broke down in tears. He had a $120 million company, $40 million in debt maturing in six months, and a business losing $9 million a year. The revenue had been there all along. The gross margin had not. What Jeff Did Next With the board pushing to sell at whatever price they could get, Jeff made a different bet. He did not cut his way to a slightly smaller loss. He rebuilt the business around a completely different product. Suja had a line of wellness shots that had been sitting largely ignored for years. The shots had 65% gross margins. The cold-pressed juice they were famous for had 30%. The kombucha they had launched had 15%. Jeff got rid of the kombucha. He pulled back on the juice. He went all in on the shots. Within two years, Suja went from losing $9 million a year to generating $20 million in EBITDA. Not because revenue exploded. Because the margin on what they were selling changed everything underneath it. The company sold for $325 million. Why This Matters for Your Business A financial buyer looking at your business is not buying your revenue. They are buying your future cash flow. And gross margin is the clearest signal of whether that cash flow is durable. Jeff’s wellness shots did not just improve his profit. They changed the fundamental quality of the business. A company doing $120 million at 15% gross margins and a company doing $120 million at 65% gross margins are not the same business. Jeff had the shots sitting in his product line for years. The answer was there. He just had not reorganized around it yet. The Question Worth Asking Look at your own business and ask where your margin comes from. Not which product line has the most revenue, but which one has the highest margin. Are you spending most of your time and energy on the high margin work, or are you running hard on the low margin work because that is where the volume is? Your highest margin product or service is not just your most profitable offering. It is the version of your business a buyer would most want to own. The single largest transaction and transition of your life deserves special attention. Are you planning to exit and sell your business? Exit planning is quickly becoming a buzzword in the legal and financial communities. Your professional advisors position themselves to provide tax, risk management, wealth management, and contract preparation services. The BEST-PivotPoint Exit Plan Advisor has been trained to manage your team of tax, legal, business, and financial planners to navigate your exit strategy. Click here for more details on how to get started. If you want to see how prepared you are for transition, take the 15-minute Assessment at no charge: There is one indisputable fact – 100% of owners will eventually exit their business. The Assessment is a multiple-choice questionnaire that does not ask for confidential or financial information. Nevertheless, it is a critical first step in starting the discussion and planning process. Click here for more information concerning our free, no-obligation exit planning assessment.
Thanks for Joining Us at Gen Con 2026 to Level up Your Game
Gen Con is one of Indianapolis’ and the Tabletop Gaming and Hobby Industry’s largest events, with over 70,000 attendees annually. For Tabletop Gaming businesses, the event offers you countless opportunities to enhance your career and gain access to resources to drive future business growth— and BEST Human Capital & Advisory Group will be there in person to meet with you! As a Production Category member of GAMA, with a presence on several committees, BEST has a specialization in the Tabletop Gaming and Hobby industry through Executive Search, Strategic Human Resource Solutions, and Succession & Exit Planning services. We are BEST positioned to help your business obtain and retain talent, achieve your strategic business plans, and propel your future growth. Do you currently have the right people in the right places in your business, positioned to retain and grow today and tomorrow? The tight labor market, especially in the Tabletop Gaming and Hobby industry, means we need to change our thinking about how and from where we recruit. BEST’s Executive Search service is trusted by leading global companies to provide world-class candidate selection techniques, assessment, job benchmarking, behavior-based interviewing, and employee retention strategies. Are you concerned about or even aware of your risk exposure from labor and employment law violations? The small-to-mid-sized companies that dominate the Tabletop Gaming and Hobby industry are more prone to violating labor and employment laws due to the stress of tight budgets, small staff, and a lack of knowledge. It’s easy to bend the rules a bit, but it’s often to the detriment of employees and your business. Led by Michael Maggiotto Jr., SHRM-SCP, BEST’s Strategic Human Resource Solutions service can help you develop the right policies, employee handbook, and strategies for workforce planning, recruitment, retention, total rewards, and more. Whether you are a serial entrepreneur ready to sell your current business to launch your next venture, a first-time business owner ready to cash out, or at the later stages of your career and eying a potential retirement, Tabletop Gaming and Hobby industry business leaders need support to exit their business the right way. Led by Chris Cimaglio, CEPA and Managing Partner, BEST’s Exit Planning service may be the right solution for you. According to Chris, “An Exit Planning Institute report found that over 75% of business owners who have sold their business profoundly regret it within a year after the sale. So, leadership succession and exit planning must consider both the transactional and emotional aspects of leaving your business.” Whether your business is growing, stable, or even distressed, if you have people challenges like all businesses do, require people strategies to overcome these challenges, or are ready to learn more about Exit Planning, connect with Michael Maggiotto and the BEST Team today! Contact us today, or . at Gen Con, and may you have a fantastic convention! Download our Best Overview to learn more about the BEST Human Capital & Advisory Group and why there is a better way!
4.1 Reasons to Join Us at Cultivate’26 and Grow Your Business
In July, we’re not just celebrating America’s 250th, but also the 26th Annual Cultivate! We look forward to seeing you July 11-14th at Cultivate’26 in Columbus, Ohio: the Green Industry event offering countless opportunities to grow your business and enhance your career. We will be there with FOUR in-person educational sessions on extremely timely industry topics such as talent acquisition, human resources, building value in your business, succession and exit planning, and more that you will not want to miss. Get educated and up to speed in these sessions. SUNDAY, JULY 12th Beyond Sweat Equity: Compounding Growth in Your Business 9:45 AM ET • Room A110 Speakers: Chris Cimaglio & Ken Lane Your business is likely your family’s greatest asset and wealth builder. With 75% of owners planning to exit within the next 10 years and buyers becoming increasingly selective, only 20-30% of businesses will successfully transfer ownership. Will there be a return on all of your years of blood, sweat, and tears? Now is the time for you to work ON your business, not just IN it. This session reveals the critical drivers for compounded growth and how to prioritize them in your business. You’ll discover proven strategies to enhance value today while preparing for tomorrow’s opportunities. You’ll take away leading practices and strategies for consistent growth, as well as the 8 drivers of company value most important to potential buyers. These value-building techniques strengthen your business now and position it to successfully transition, ensuring you capture maximum value when the time comes. MONDAY, JULY 13th Costly People Risks Most Business Leaders Miss: And Could Shutter Your Business 9:00 AM ET • Union Station Ballroom C Speaker: Michael Maggiotto, Jr. SHRM-SCP Business leaders in horticulture are amazing at growing and caring for their crops, possess exceptional product knowledge, and generally do a terrific job leading operations. Unfortunately, there are many people risks to their business, regardless of size, that leaders are just unaware of or don’t know the impact they have on their business. Many of them can shutter your business if left unresolved and uncovered in a government audit. This session will reveal: Some of the very significant and costly errors that happen right in our own industry The do’s and don’ts in key areas of human capital management that can lead to some of the highest costs Some of the hefty price tags are associated with the errors. What can you do to protect your business from these costly errors? Come to the session and find out! Rooted In Health & Wellness (Panel Discussion) 4:00 PM ET • Room A113 Moderated by Todd Downing with Panelists Broch Martindale and Jake Scott Employee health and wellness at work requires more than fitness perks and free snacks. From emotional resilience to financial security, learn how the various aspects of wellness shape how employees show up at work and how their well-being connects to the bottom line. It takes companies and employees working in unison to promote an overall mental and physical health atmosphere. Wellness is a retention, professional development, and growth strategy for a company. When the right programs and coping skills are put into action, it will lead to comforting magic words we all want to hear and say – “I love my job!” TUESDAY, JULY 14th Before the Storm: Common Sense Business Continuity Planning for Horticulture Business Owners [Extended Session] 10:30 AM ET • Room A113 Speakers: Chris Cimaglio & Ken Lane Disaster planning for weather events and infrastructure failure is just common sense. What many business continuity plans lack is practical recommendations for when the owner isn’t available to lead. An owner’s death or disability can lead to business failure, with repercussions for family, employees, and customers. If something happened tomorrow, would your team know how to keep operations running? Would your family know who to call and what decisions to make? This high-impact, extended session offers a framework for “keeping the lights on during a storm.” You’ll learn why smart continuity planning is essential not just for natural disasters, but for the 5Ds: Death, Disability, Divorce, Disagreement, and Distress that can derail your life’s work. You’ll walk away with: A ready-to-use Business Continuity Instructions Worksheet Strategies for both short-term crisis response and long-term business stability Immediate steps to safeguard your business and employees and protect your family’s future. A “plus” reason to attend— Connect with The BEST Team in person at Cultivate’26! Their focus will be on making themselves available to meet with leaders who want to discuss their company’s executive hiring, succession planning, and restructuring and turnaround needs. With decades of experience in corporate management, sales, marketing, human resources, exit planning, and business advisory, BEST specializes in talent acquisition and management consulting for the horticulture industry. If you represent a company that needs executive hiring, restructuring, or succession planning, please schedule a meeting with us anytime during the show. Contact us today, and may you have a great Cultivate’26! View or Download Our Best Overview to learn more about the BEST Human Capital & Advisory Group and why there is a better way! We look forward to seeing you in Columbus at Cultivate’26!
What to Watch Out for When Getting Outside Advice
When you bring in an outside advisor — whether it’s an accountant, attorney, consultant, or broker — you’re doing the right thing. You’re acknowledging there’s something you don’t know and going to find someone who does. That’s smart ownership. But there’s a trap hidden in that process that most business owners never see coming. Every Expert Has a Favorite Tool There’s an old saying: to a hammer, everything is a nail. Think about it this way. You go to your doctor and say, “My shoulder has been killing me — I need help.” The doctor genuinely wants to help you. But whether you walk out with a prescription, a surgery date, a chiropractic adjustment, or a set of acupuncture needles depends less on what’s actually best for your shoulder — and more on which type of doctor you happened to walk in to see. The internist reaches for anti-inflammatories. The orthopedic surgeon schedules an operation. Each one treats your pain. Each one probably helps. But you’ll likely never realize that your treatment was shaped by who you chose to see, not by some universal best practice for shoulder injuries. The same thing happens when business owners seek outside help. The Advisor You Hire Shapes the Advice You Get When it comes to something as significant as planning your exit from a business, the type of advisor you engage will heavily influence the direction you’re pointed — often without you realizing it. Bring in an accountant and the plan will likely center on minimizing your tax burden. Hire an attorney and you’ll probably end up focused on asset protection or employment contracts. Work with a business consultant and the conversation will revolve around improving operations and boosting profitability. None of that advice is wrong. But it may not be complete — and it may not actually align with what you’re trying to accomplish in your life. A few years ago, a business broker added “Exit Planner” to his business card. When asked how he approached exit planning, his answer was straightforward: if an owner would agree to accept 100% seller financing, he’d help them sell. That was his tool, and he applied it to every situation. To a hammer, everything is a nail. What This Means for You Before you take any advisor’s recommendation and run with it, it’s worth asking yourself: Is this the best solution for my situation — or is it the best solution this particular advisor knows how to deliver? That’s not cynicism. Most advisors genuinely want to help. But their training, their experience, and frankly their business model all point them toward certain kinds of answers. The best advisors — the ones worth your time and money — will ask a lot of questions before they start offering solutions. They’ll slow down, make sure they understand your real objectives, and resist the urge to jump straight to their preferred tool. If an advisor walks into your first meeting already knowing what you need, that’s worth paying attention to. The clarity that comes from being genuinely heard saves time, prevents costly missteps, and leads to a plan you’ll actually follow through on. The right advice starts with the right questions — not the other way around. John F. Dini, CExP, CEPA is an exit planning coach and the President of MPN Incorporated in San Antonio, Texas. He is the publisher of the Awake at 2 o’clock blog and has authored three books on business ownership. The single largest transaction and transition of your life deserves special attention. Are you planning to exit and sell your business? Exit planning is quickly becoming a buzzword in the legal and financial communities. Your professional advisors position themselves to provide tax, risk management, wealth management, and contract preparation services. The BEST-PivotPoint Exit Plan Advisor has been trained to manage your team of tax, legal, business, and financial planners to navigate your exit strategy. Click here for more details on how to get started. If you want to see how prepared you are for transition, take the 15-minute Assessment at no charge: There is one indisputable fact – 100% of owners will eventually exit their business. The Assessment is a multiple-choice questionnaire that does not ask for confidential or financial information. Nevertheless, it is a critical first step in starting the discussion and planning process. Click here for more information concerning our free, no-obligation exit planning assessment.