Chris Vanderzyden

CHRIS VANDERZYDEN, CPA, CVGA, is an author, speaker, and leading educator on exit planning and mergers and acquisitions. She is a founding partner of Legacy Partners, LLLP, an exit planning and M&A advisory firm dedicated to creating and executing exit strategies for privately held business owners. Her career began as a CPA with PricewaterhouseCoopers, then as an asset manager with Northwest Asset Management in Los Angeles, California. Following her positions in the corporate world, she became an entrepreneur, having sold two businesses herself, and has consulted for privately held companies in driving business value and exit strategies for decades. Vanderzyden speaks internationally on exit planning and mergers and acquisitions, is an expert contributor for media outlets, a guest lecturer for Harvard University’s Entrepreneurship and Innovation class, and the bestselling author of 7 Steps to Entrepreneurial Victory. Her newest book, Master Your Exit Plan: Sell Your Business, Preserve Your Legacy (Emerald Lake Books; April 19, 2022), offers a step-by-step roadmap to successfully selling a business and includes in-depth advice from five preeminent industry contributors. Learn more at legacypartnersllp.com

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Chris Vanderzyden's Guest Appearances

Business Exits; The Make-or-Break Element, With Chris Vanderzyden

Filed in Podcasts, Previous Episodes on June 30, 2022

According to the Business Enterprise Institute, a whopping 81% of business owners want to stop working in their businesses before the decade closes—and two years of pandemic problems have only thrust this desire into overdrive. But while business owners are dreaming about “getting out,” 79% are missing one make-or-break element: a Master Exit Plan. And that’s a huge problem. 

An unplanned exit can have devasting financial consequences. You might pour your capital, sweat equity, and tears into building a business and not be positioned to attract buyers upon your exit. You could sell your business but not have nearly enough to retire. Or unforeseen events could shutter your business long before you receive any return on your investment for all of your efforts.

“Most business owners are far too busy running their companies to plan for an exit they don’t believe is imminent. But if you wait until you’re forced to go to market or receive an unsolicited offer, the chance of being able to successfully sell your business is less than 20%. The key to success is proper planning,” says leading business educator and M&A advisor Chris Vanderzyden, author of Master Your Exit Plan: Sell Your Business, Preserve Your Legacy (Emerald Lake Books; April 19, 2022).

Chris is joining Adam to discuss:

  • 6 business exit strategies—and how to determine which is right for you
  • The 7 steps to selling a business
  • How to answer the million-dollar question: “When should I sell?”
  • The key ingredients that make a business marketable
  • How to prepare for your post-ownership life—and exit with no regrets
  • And so much more!

Join us and gain insider strategies to help you create and execute your Master Exit Plan so that you can harvest the wealth created in your business—and protect your legacy for generations to come.