Assess, Protect and Grow Business Value: Enterprise growth is a complementary and parallel process to exit planning and it’s all about managing the intangible assets of your business. 85% of growth inhibitors are internal factors, not external factors. 

Get set up for continued success: “Having a transition strategy is important both for you and the future of your business.” 99% of business owners agree. 79% of owners have no written transition plan, while 48% have done no planning at all. This leaves your legacy and financial security at risk.

Transition on your terms: 50% of business exits are not voluntary. More than half of all exits are a result of the 5-D’s: Death, Divorce, Disability, Disagreement, Disaster. Of the businesses that do make it to market, 80% don’t sell.

Business value is more than the bottom line: Business value is driven by your brand, the intangible assets of the business. The strength and transferability of your human, customer, social, and infrastructural capital determine where you fall on your industry’s range of multiple.

Building your legacy starts today. It takes 3-5 years to prepare a business for a transition. De-risking and strengthening transferrable business value ensures results today and prepares the business for a transition at any point.

Prioritize personal wealth: Most business owners have 80-90% of their personal wealth tied up in their business.

Transfer your skills & passion: Most business owners (94%) have no written, personal third act plan. An exit isn’t the end, it’s the beginning.

How do we do it?

Business Strategy Consulting: Collaborative strategic consulting supports you and your team in developing a shared vision that aligns your personal, financial and business goals. Develops effective actions and management of the intangible assets of your brand and business to increase value.

Business Valuation: Simple, fast and affordable business valuation to help you understand your business.

• Benchmarks current value of business within your industry’s range of multiple
• Provides key metrics that identify value growth initiatives to strategically position your business for investment or acquisition when you are ready.
• Identifies value gap – the difference between your personal needs at the time of exit and what is currently and potentially accessible through a liquidity event

Founder Advisory: Partners with you to design your third act around passion and fulfillment:

• Defines your sensibilities around your legacy and vision for the business.

• Clarifies your passion and purpose to create a future life plan that can be as fulfilling as your business has been.

• Identifies financial quality of life requirements to integrate into the business strategy. Supports you in putting together the right team of experts to execute.

• You would like to transition your business within the next 10 years.
• You would like to see your business continue long into the future.
• You do not have a contingency plan.
• You do not have a written business transition plan.
• You do not have an advisory board.
• Shareholders or family members are not on the same page.
• You have focused on building revenue and profit rather than value enhancement.
• A financial or legal advisor suggested value growth initiatives to improve your business value and you are unsure how to implement.
• A significant portion of your personal wealth is inside your business.
• You would like to live a life of purpose and fulfillment beyond your tenure at your business.
• You do not have a written personal plan for your third act.

About Sarah Van Aken, CEPA ®

For nearly twenty years, Sarah has been developing methods and practices focused on harnessing human potential to create transformational growth for individuals and organizations. Understanding that our human capacity is our greatest asset, Sarah inspires and supports people in reaching their highest individual and collective potential through finding their purpose. She believes that success grows from understanding who you are and what’s possible for you and others in an environment of trust and belonging.

Professional Background

Sarah’s career spans across industry sectors including fashion, lifestyle and social expression consumer industries; consumer technology; social entrepreneurship; real estate and hospitality. Her experience extends across the entire business lifecycle: from design, development and sourcing, through operations, multiple sales channels, brand and marketing to finance and transaction. Sarah is a serial entrepreneur and has served as a C-Suite executive for nationally recognized brands and partnered with Fortune 500 organizations throughout her career. She is a Certified Exit Planning Advisor, Life & Executive Coach, Yoga and Meditation Instructor.

LinkedIn

Sarah Van Aken launched FounderForth® in 2019 to continue her support of business owners in navigating their way through personal and business transitions. Enlisting her proprietary brand positioning methodology, she helps transform organizations to set them up for success on their terms. She inspires them to see the vision of what is possible and create a thoughtful road map to help them reach those possibilities. She meets the team where they are and enrolls them in using a balance of vision and strategy on a foundation of personal authenticity to reach their goals. Her proven success in leading transformational growth for organizations is through brand authenticity. This is achieved by How and What you do working in harmony from one clear, shared belief – your Why. Sarah helps companies find their Why and build that shared value through every touch-point of the organization.