In this episode, David Wallace, author of Build Your Own Business(BYOB) and Program Manager for Exit AdvantageSM discusses how his book guides entrepreneurs from idea and passion to execution and building businesses that can grow beyond the founder. He shares the importance of early self-reflection to assess whether entrepreneurship is truly the right fit, market understanding, and planning, as well as shifting from working in the business to working on it through strong teams, processes, and structure. Wallace also explains how Exit Advantage helps owners strengthen their businesses to increase value, emphasizing that growth requires adaptation, clear goals, and planning for exit from the start to create resilient, valuable companies ready for the future.

touchstoneadvisors.com

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Demystifying ESOPs: What Business Owners Need to Know Before Selling

In this episode, Deborah is joined by Rich Glassman of ESOP Plus LLP. Rich shares his extensive knowledge of Employee Stock Ownership Plans (ESOPs), what he considers to be the best-kept secret in the tax code. Learn why ESOPs are a good option to explore when selling your business.

Rich breaks down what an ESOP is, how it works and how it benefits the seller and the company. He addresses some misconceptions including complexity, cost and risk as well as future requirements and costs for the ESOP going forward. Drawing on his background in banking, management, a family-owned business and ESOP law, Rick encourages owners to keep an open mind, seek experienced advisors, and thoughtfully consider whether employee ownership could be the right option for your exit.

touchstoneadvisors.com

linkedin.com/company/touchstone-advisors-m-a

directlinemediaproductions.com/professional-podcast-production

In this episode, Rick Vidallon, Creative Director @ VISIONEFX, discusses how businesses can better manage and protect their digital or online assets . He emphasizes the importance of maintaining control over domains, logins, hosting accounts, and passwords, especially when selling or acquiring a company. It highlights best practices such as keeping an updated inventory of online assets, ensuring owners, not just managers, retain essential access. It emphasizes the value of updating websites regularly, ensuring accurate online listings, and using SEO best practices so search engines can properly recognize and rank a business. Even older sites can retain credibility, but fresh content improves visibility. The episode concludes with insights on tailoring social media and content strategies to a company’s audience and industry, and the role VISIONEFX plays in redesigning sites, improving SEO, and supporting content and social postings.

touchstoneadvisors.com

linkedin.com/company/touchstone-advisors-m-a

directlinemediaproductions.com/professional-podcast-production