Leaving a Legacy: How Thoughtful Boomer Business Owners Are Retiring Without Burdening Their Employees or Their Communities

Leaving a Legacy: How Thoughtful Boomer Business Owners Are Retiring Without Burdening Their Employees or Their Communities

Source: http://seattlebusinessmag.com/business-operations/leaving-legacy-how-thoughtful-boomer-business-owners-are-retiring-without SEATTLE, WA – At 65, Charlie Lanasa has long grappled with how best to retire from BestWorth Rommel Inc., the Arlington-based sheet metal fabricator he acquired nearly two decades ago. After putting in 70-hour weeks for the company, which makes gas station canopies and custom siding for clients such as Krispy Kreme and Porsche Bellevue, he wasn’t sure he could let go. And, a couple of years back, he began to have another concern: “I started thinking, ‘What happens if I get hit by a truck?’” LaNasa says. “It would violate all my principles.” LaNasa has always taken pride in operating the business by three principles: Act ethically, provide good stewardship of the firm’s assets, and take care of his employees, customers, vendors and subcontractors. How could he find a new owner who shared his values and who would keep the business in Arlington and provide security for his 100 employees in a community of 19,000? LaNasa’s dilemma is one shared by many among the nation’s growing population of aging business owners. Project Equity, a Bay Area nonprofit, estimates baby boomers born between 1946 and 1964 own 2.34 million businesses across the country and have nearly 25 million workers on their payrolls. In 2017, owners 65 years or older accounted for 36 percent of all small businesses with annual revenue between $100,000 and $10 million, and 45 percent of midsize businesses with yearly revenue between $10 million and $100 million, according to Minneapolis-based Barlow Research Associates. In a 2015 U.S. Census Bureau survey of Washington state’s 183,000 employers, roughly half of the business owners who responded were 55...
B2B CFO Extends Leadership Position in Mid-Market Business Transitions

B2B CFO Extends Leadership Position in Mid-Market Business Transitions

Company sees widespread adoption of its proprietary exit strategy software, increased demand for expertise as owners of mid-market companies struggle to sell their businesses MESA, Ariz. [May 19, 2016] – B2B CFO, nation’s largest CFO and business transitions services firm, today released a summary of its Partners expertise in exit strategy leadership, highlighting a rapidly expanding client roster for business transition work and widespread adoption of the firm’s proprietary exit strategy software. The summary, completed through a survey of the firm’s 233 Partners in April 2016, showcased expertise featuring 1,621 completed business transitions with more than $51 billion in sales value. With an average of seven business transitions per partner, B2B CFO has moved into a leadership position as the largest source of mid-market business transition experts in the nation. “Reaching this milestone affirms our leadership role in mid-market business transitions,” said Jerry L. Mills, CEO and Founder of B2B CFO. “Our Partners bring unparalleled expertise and talent to guide business owners going through a sale or acquisition, which typically is an extremely turbulent time in their lives. Combined with the tools, technology and resources that we have created specifically for exit work over the last three years, it is no surprise to me that more and more owners are turning to our Partners for strategic solutions.” “We have dedicated ourselves and our resources to meet the growing demand of business owners who are ready to transition from their companies,” added Mills. “While we still continue to provide strategic CFO services, providing leadership in business transition was a natural fit for our Partners and their existing experience, measured in this...
Fort Worth Star-Telegram – Work Faces

Fort Worth Star-Telegram – Work Faces

B2B CFO® Partner Dave Davenport has reunited with the firm’s Texas practice. Click here to read the full article.   About B2B CFO B2B CFO provides Management Advisory Services to owners of privately held companies. We focus on increasing cash and company value. Our services include improvements in finance, accounting and operations, company growth, as well as helping owners to transfer or sell their companies. Our professionals work directly with business owners, on-site. Each of our 200+ professionals is an equity owner and brings 25 plus years of senior-level experience. With a nationwide presence, B2B CFO is the largest company of its kind in the United States. Founded in 1987 and headquartered in Mesa, Arizona, B2B CFO has ranked in the Inc. 5000 and was recognized in 2018 as one of Forbes Magazine’s “Small Giants.” For more information please visit...
Pennsylvania Business Central – Accounting for mergers

Pennsylvania Business Central – Accounting for mergers

  B2B CFO Partner Steven Koval spoke with Pennsylvania Business Central on how baby boomer retirements are driving accounting firm mergers and how B2B CFO helps clean up a company’s back office to get the books ready for a buyer’s due diligence. Click here to read the full article   About B2B CFO B2B CFO provides Management Advisory Services to owners of privately held companies. We focus on increasing cash and company value. Our services include improvements in finance, accounting and operations, company growth, as well as helping owners to transfer or sell their companies. Our professionals work directly with business owners, on-site. Each of our 200+ professionals is an equity owner and brings 25 plus years of senior-level experience. With a nationwide presence, B2B CFO is the largest company of its kind in the United States. Founded in 1987 and headquartered in Mesa, Arizona, B2B CFO has ranked in the Inc. 5000 and was recognized in 2018 as one of Forbes Magazine’s “Small Giants.” For more information please visit...
Borrowing From Friends And Family: 5 Things You Need To Know

Borrowing From Friends And Family: 5 Things You Need To Know

For a lot of startups, money is tough to come by. So it’s not surprising that many fledgling entrepreneurs think about borrowing from the Bank of Mom and Dad or floating their business plans by college buddies. In fact, borrowing money from friends and family is the most common method for raising startup capital. But getting a business loan from your friends and family can’t help but become personal — and there are countless horror stories out there to prove it. That said, there are also plenty of successful entrepreneurial stories that begin with conversations at the Thanksgiving table or the local bar. How can you approach this tricky topic and ensure that your personal relationships do not suffer? Here are five things you need to know. 1. Money will impact your relationships. Not that you haven’t considered that. But it’s worth really thinking this through. If you can’t pay back the money your friends or family loan you, or if you take it and then don’t communicate with them, you could lose your relationship. And while you may be right if you’re thinking, “Mom would never disown me,” or, “Chuck and I have been friends since third grade,” the respect they have for you could take a hit. “Make sure that this loan doesn’t put the family member or friend in a hardship,” urges Lisa Baskfield, a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accounts’ National CPA Financial Literary Commission. “It’s similar to investing in the market. The person loaning the money should be okay with the idea of losing all funds.”   2. Treat this as...