Do you have an Exit Planning for the five Ds: disagreement, deadlock, default, divorce and death?
Many small-business owners fail to plan for the five Ds as attorney Michael Burstein describes them: disagreement, deadlock, default, divorce and death. When a business is successful, owners commonly postpone dealing with potentially difficult and uncomfortable situations. But failing to plan can have dire consequences, from the destruction of the business to your heirs being cheated of their rightful share.
To avoid these problems, develop a written plan with an attorney that describes what would happen under different scenarios. The plan needs to include mechanisms that allow for positive resolutions despite the most difficult disagreements. It should also discuss—in great detail—how the business should be closed, the process to follow and how the proceeds will be split, if it gets to that.
About Mike Periu
Mike is a seasoned executive with experience in small business finance and management. He is the founder of Proximo, LLC a leading provider of corporate, consumer and small business education and training services with an emphasis on finance and technology.
Mike Periu is also a leading national voice for individual empowerment through financial education and entrepreneurship. He has been interviewed over 500 times in national and international media, including NBC, Univision, CNN en español, Telemundo, HITN, TVE, RTE, SBS, MegaTV and others.
Mike writes regularly for American Express OpenForum, Yahoo! Finanzas and is a Huffington Post contributor.
Mike has degrees in Finance and International Business from Georgetown University. He is on the Board of Directors of the Council for Economic Education and was a Fellow at the Kauffman Foundation’s Labs for Enterprise Creation.
