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All Episodes

Poised for Exit — 313 episodes

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Title
1

From Uncertainty to Action: What the Latest Business Survey Reveals

2

Inside the 2026 M&A Summit: What Business Owners Can Expect

3

What a Father and Son Are Learning About Family Business Succession

4

The Hidden Complexities of Family Business Succession

5

Is Your Business Bankable? What Lenders Want to See Before a Sale

6

What Exit Advisors Need to Know About Estate Planning

7

How One Business Drew 4 Private Equity Offers in 81 Days

8

From Startup to an Eight-Figure Exit

9

The HR Mistakes That Can Derail Your Exit

10

The Five-Year Exit Plan: How to Sell on Your Terms

11

Freedom to Build, Risk, and Begin Again: A Fourth of July Message from Julie Keyes

12

The Super Roth Strategy

13

How to Build Marketing Systems That Increase Exit Value

14

What Private Equity Buyers Really Want From Sellers

15

What Every Owner Should Know About the Legal Side of Exit Planning

16

Why Commercial Real Estate Can Make or Break an Exit Plan

17

R&D Tax Credits Explained: What Business Owners Commonly Miss

18

Beyond the Hype: How Private Companies Should Actually Approach AI Adoption

19

AI, Hiring & Business Value: What Mid-Market Companies Are Getting Wrong

20

A Real Exit Story: How Preparation and the Right Advisory Team Drove a Premium Outcome

21

How Business Owners Can Build Philanthropy Into an Exit Plan

22

Exit Planning Starts Day One: How to Build a Business That Can Actually Sell

23

Employee Ownership as a Business Exit Option

24

Partnerships, Not Transactions: The Mindset Behind a Stronger Business

25

Building Your Exit Around Your Future, Not Just Your Business

26

10 Years of Impact: How the Twin Cities EPI Chapter Is Raising the Bar for Business Exits

27

From Invisible to Investable: Why Visibility Matters for Manufacturing

28

Legal Pitfalls That Derail Business Sales and How Owners Can Avoid Them

29

Stop Winging the Future: Why Business Owners Need Intentional Planning

30

What Sellers Should Understand Before Partnering with Private Equity

31

Why Value Must Be the North Star in Exit Planning

32

What Business Owners Must Get Right to Scale a Regulated Service Business

33

Why Most Exits Fail and How Planning Changes Everything

34

Moving to a Lower-Tax State: Strategies and Requirements for Business Owners

35

How Buyers Value Businesses in 2026 and Why Preparation Matters More Than Timing

36

Building a Construction Business with a Small Team

37

Reflecting on 2025 and Planning for 2026: Exit Planning Insights from Poised for Exit

38

Preparing for a Clean Exit: Legal Lessons from Real-World Business Transitions

39

Estate and Tax Planning for Business Exits

40

How to Plan Your Exit Before You Need One: Insights from a Seasoned CEPA

41

The Hidden Cybersecurity Risks Every Business Owner Should Know: Part 2

42

Keeping the Family Aligned as the Business Grows

43

Why Exits Are Transitions, Not Transactions

44

Exit Planner of the Year Joe Seetoo on the Real Work Owners Must Do Before They Exit

45

How to Repair Cash Flow and Rebuild Trust with Your Bank

46

The Hidden Cybersecurity Risks Every Business Owner Should Know

47

Stepping Into a Family Business Built on Service, Safety, and Purpose

48

Rethinking HR and Virtual Assistance for the Modern Workplace

49

Why Clean Financials Build Trust and Drive Better Business Transitions

50

Building Stronger Teams and Business Value Through EQ and AI

51

What to Expect at the EPI Regional Summit 2025

52

How to Pass Down Real Estate Wealth Without the Tax Burden

53

Exit Planning in the Age of AI: Building Smarter Strategies

54

Next Chapter Partners: Preparing Owners for Life After Exit

55

Laying the Foundation for a Legacy

56

Frameworks For Success

57

Behind the Scenes of Starting and Scaling a Business

58

How the M&A Summit Helps Business Owners Plan Their Next Move

59

Smart Risk Management for Growth and Exit

60

The Role Financial Planning Plays in a Successful Exit

61

What Makes a Business Sellable

62

Leading With Grit and Growth

63

Fit For Transition

64

Advisors, Agendas, and the Fear of Letting Go

65

What Works in Family Business Succession

66

Sales Tax and What Sellers Overlook

67

You’re Doing LinkedIn Wrong: A Proven Sales Strategy

68

Why Transparency and Trust Are Your Best Exit Strategies

69

Estate and Tax Planning for Business Exits

70

Private Equity With Purpose

71

What Your Numbers Are Telling You

72

The Human Side of a Successful Exit

73

The Ultimate Sale: Building Value and Living with Intention

74

The Power of Professional Collaboration in Exit Planning

75

How to Prepare Your Sales Process for Exit

76

Unlocking the Path to a Smooth Business Exit

77

Leading Through Change: Balancing AI, Innovation, and Workplace Culture

78

The Power of Partnership in Business

79

Succession Strategies: From Family Business to Legacy

80

Inside Scoop: Updates, Insights, & Future Plans

81

Building a Lasting Legacy: Succession & Strategy in Family Business

82

Exit Smarter: The role of CEO Peer Groups in Business Transitions

83

Your Personal Plan: The Missing Link to a Great Exit!

84

EPI's Chapter Network: A Vital Resource for Owners and Advisors!

85

Guiding Sellers to a Seamless Exit

86

Is an ESOP Right for You as a Liquidity or Exit Planning Strategy?

87

You are the Prize: Attracting Buyers vs Soliciting Them

88

Early Stages of a Generational Transition: Mother and Daughter share their story

89

From The Vault: Private Investigators and Dealmakers are Teaming up More Often than Ever!

90

From The Vault: Why Acquisition Entrepreneurs Should Know Pari Passu (who?)

91

Family Owned Business with a Non-Family Leader: Recipe for Success!

92

Proactive Exit Planning through Internal Collaboration

93

Women Contractors are Trailblazing Entrepreneurs!

94

What's New in Death and Taxes?

95

The Proven Framework to Scale a Durable Business

96

Quarterbacking Your Exit Through Your Trusted Advisor

97

Julie Talks about her Game Changing Programs for Advisors!

98

ProjectWE: Human Centric AI

99

Two Sides of the Same Coin: "The Paradox of Prosperity" and "Exit Regret"

100

Building Inclusive and Secure Digital Spaces with ADA & Cyber Compliance

101

Using a Board of Directors for a Better Exit

102

No Plan B: The All-in Approach of a Boat Burner

103

What does it take to be a female CEO of a Regional Bank? Tenacity!

104

Avoid M&A Pitfalls with Trust as a Guiding Principle

105

Private Investigators and Dealmakers are Teaming up More Often than Ever!

106

Trust Matters Now more than Ever: Learn from the Experts

107

Sold over 330 Businesses and He's just getting Started!

108

Overview of the 7th Annual Owner's Forum: "Go or Grow!"

109

Business Succession Research Completed by the University of MN

110

Women Contractors Who Grow Their Companies by Growing Their Networks

111

The Corporate Transparency Act: What you Need to Know

112

RISR: Empowering the Business Owner's Most Trusted Advisor

113

How to Best Utilize a Board of Directors for your ESOP Company

114

SLATs, CRTs, and IDGTs, Oh My! Utilizing Trusts to Optimize Estate Planning and Business Sale Proceeds

115

Reluctantly Resilient: Tools for Building Resilience in Transition

116

Lessons Learned: Navigating Company Culture during a Business Sale

117

Why Culture Matters when you're Poised for Exit

118

Tax Strategies to Maximize After-Tax Proceeds of a Business Sale

119

Next Level Collaboration in Exit Planning: Dealmakers and Manufacturers Team up for Better Owner Outcomes!

120

Using Data to Drive Decisions for Growth, Acquisitions and Exit

121

A Story of two Brothers, their Music and their Give-Back Mission

122

A Financial Advisor’s Journey from Global M&A to Private Business Clients

123

A Partnership Exit Strategy where Everyone Wins

124

Building our "All Star Network" with Cathy Paper

125

Kendall Qualls and TakeChargeMN: Making Black Lives Better!

126

CFO of YTS companies Shares their ESOP Journey, with Guest Host, Kyla Hanson of JAK CPA's!

127

Selling a Financial Advisory Practice: A Former Financial Advisor Shares Tips and Advice

128

Tiger 21: Your Personal Board of Directors

129

Misbeliefs about Private Equity Partnership: Success Stories Revealed!

130

How CEO Peer Groups can get you "Poised for Exit"

131

Rise of the Non-Technical Entrepreneur

132

Arrowhead Promotion’s Bud Schneider: Pointing the way toward a new generation of leadership!

133

True Story of Rapid, Strategic Growth Supported by Fractional Marketing Services

134

"Our Advisor had our Back" A Nigerian Entrepreneur's Success Secret

135

Replacing Fear with Courage: A Fresh Look at Employee Development

136

Funny Tales and Effective Tactics from an Estate Planner!

137

Entrepreneurs' Organization: A Tribe to Thrive With

138

"Stephen Covey was Right!"

139

Why Acquisition Entrepreneurs Should Know Pari Passu (who?)

140

Digital Transformation Strategy: Creating Digital Solutions to Scale Your Business

141

How to Break Through Your Plateaus and Scale Your Business!

142

You Can't Scale Your Business without a Proven Sales System

143

The Birthday Show!

144

Serial Entrepreneur-Chasing the Hard Problems

145

"Evangelist" for Business Owners gives Advice Beyond Investing

146

167 - Trading Capital Gains for Charitable Gains

147

166 - The Neuroscience of Conversations that Build Trust

148

165 - MN State of Owner Readiness Survey Results with Brent Engelbrekt!

149

164 - Exit Planning Institute, President Scott Snider Talks about Lessons in Entrepreneurship and the future of EPI

150

163 - The Impact of $80B and 87,000 Additional IRS Employees on Business Valuation

151

Selling Companies Since 1908: It's all about Relationships

152

161 - Partners Making it Work: Yard Creations' 20 years of Success!

153

160 - How does Insurance fit in with Exit Planning?

154

159 - What Sellers need to know about Net Working Capital

155

158 - The Ready for Next Cities Program!

156

157 - A Lesson on Business Valuations: What Owners Need to Know

157

156 - I'm IN! Two Upcoming Events for Business Owners and Advisors!

158

155 - Meetings You Want

159

154 - CEO and Founder of ZondraTV shares her Entrepreneurial Journey, fortified by Love, Drive and Grit

160

153 - How to Groom Awesome People Leaders

161

152 - Value Acceleration meets HR Strategy: How they work hand in hand

162

151 - Business Succession from a Forensic Accountant's Perspective

163

150 - Big Transitions Call for Maximum Influence with your Employees

164

149 - Customers + Teams = Amazing Business Outcomes

165

148 - Poised for Exit Celebrates 3 Years! A Look Back and a Look Ahead

166

147 - Expanded Options for SBA Financing!

167

146 - Simple yet Savvy: Principles to Navigate Business Transitions

168

145 - Structuring Deals, Putting out Fires and Getting Clients to the Closing Table

169

144 - From Teacher to Financial Founder: The Inspiring Journey of Stacey Stelter and GTS Financial Services

170

143 - The Great LeadHERship Awakening" with special guest Linda Fisk, CEO of LeadHERship Global

171

142 - African Family Firms Founder, Tsitsi Mutendi on how Family Business is like "Raising the Baobab"

172

141 - Leadership can be lonely: C9 Builds Your Tribe

173

140 - Transitions: When is it time to bring in outside leadership?

174

139 - When should you engage a Family Office?

175

138 - From IRS Agent to Entrepreneur: One Woman's Compelling Story

176

137 - Tax Liability in your Future? Consider a Charitable Land Donation

177

136 - Rollover Equity: What Sellers Should Know

178

135 - There's More Than One Way to Structure Your Exit!

179

134 - What to do about your 401K in a Sale

180

133 - 3rd Generation and Going Strong with a "People First" Focus

181

132 - Build a High Value Authentic Brand

182

131 - Seller Whisperer

183

130 - Should you Sell to the Employees? Taking a closer look at ESOP with Fiduciary, Neil Brozen

184

129 - Merchant Processing: Let's Cut the Expense in 2023!

185

128 - Technology and IT Services: Sell the Golden Egg but keep the Goose

186

127 - Stress Free in 2023!

187

126 - Planning and Future Dollars: Every Owner's Needs are Unique

188

125 - Julie Keyes Recaps 2022 and Looks ahead to 2023!

189

124 - Introducing NV Brands!

190

123 - How to Build a Diverse Network and Why it's Good for Business

191

122 - When is Enough Really Enough? 5 Strategies to Create a Transition Plan

192

121 - Growing up in an Entrepreneurial Family: Julie and her sisters tell their story

193

120 - Passing the Leadership Torch, but Still Driving the Vision

194

119 - Building a People Focused Enterprise with Culture at the Top

195

118 - Your Most Trusted Adviser is not Who you Think

196

117 - Business Transition Planning: Are you Ready? MNCEO's online course!

197

116 - How your CPA is Your Most Trusted Adviser

198

115 - Systematize Your Revenue Streams Through Digital Automation!

199

114 - Pre Due Diligence Leads to the Best M & A Outcomes!

200

113 - Making Sense of Value Creation for Business Owners

201

112 - Minimizing the Payment to Uncle Sam when You Sell your Company

202

111 - Choosing and Preparing Your Successor

203

110 - Women-Owned Start-Up's Have a New Advocate!

204

109 - Lessons and Strategies from a Serial Entrepreneur

205

108 - Making Sense of Long Term Care for Business Owners

206

107 - Structuring Capital With Honour

207

106 - Tips for Attracting High Paying Clients and Customers

208

105 - Stop Helping People - Start Working With Them

209

104 - How to Create Age and Gender Inclusivity in Family Business.

210

103 - Do You Have the Right Leaders in Place to Exit at Highest Value?

211

102 Why Valuation Matters

212

101 How a Cyber Breach can Affect your Company Value

213

100 Growing Your Business Through Strategic Acquisition

214

99 - Understanding Your Ownership Journey

215

98. Remodeling a Remodeling Business!

216

97 - Village Bank: Arm in Arm with Business Owners

217

96 - Financial Peace of Mind, On Demand

218

95 - Why EntreBank?

219

94 - Let’s Talk Culture with Super Bowl Champion & Chief Culture Officer, Ben Utecht

220

93 - Comparing the Deal Market: Today vs a Year Ago

221

92 - A 43-yr-old Startup! When 'Exit' Takes a 180 Turn

222

91 - When is it Time to Explore ‘What’s Next'?

223

90 - Launching the 2nd Edition of Poised for Exit!

224

89 - New Tequila Coming to Town!

225

88 - Proactively Take Control of your Future Exit

226

87 - Better HR Delivers Better Business Results

227

86 - I Didn't Think My Business Was Sellable

228

85 - Your Price is Too Low

229

84 - Chief Stripe Changer Talks about Finding your Fire!

230

83 - Next Generation of Manufacturing: Challenges to Transition

231

82 - Extreme Focus: Benchmarks over Goals

232

81 - The Business of Robots: Coming to an Industry Near You!

233

80 - Build a Sustainable Business by Putting Yourself Out of Job

234

79 - Owners: Are you Doing What Makes You Happy?

235

78 - How to become Poised for Exit in 2022: Advice from a CPA

236

77 - Buy, Lease or Move On: Decisions in Commercial Real Estate

237

76 - Julie Highlights the Best of 2021, our Show Sponsors, and what's coming in 2022!

238

75 - What do we Need in 2022? Leaders & Problem Solvers!

239

74 - From Tragedy to Success: A Woman Entrepreneur Tells her Story

240

73 - What if Your Top Sales Person Became Disabled from COVID?

241

72 - Business Owners & Divorce: A Valuation Conversation

242

71 - Sold His Subway Franchise with 26 Locations!

243

70 - A Wild Mountain Exit

244

69 - How Do You Make Uncomfortable Situations Comfortable

245

68 - Upsizing UpSize!

246

67 - Private Equity and Managed Expectations!

247

66 - Becoming an Authority in a Niche Industry

248

65 - Difficult Conversations: Managing People in Today's Tough Environment

249

64 - What the Tech!

250

63 - Contingency Planning: In Case of Emergency -Break-Glass- Do This!

251

62 - Think You Don't Need Long Term Care Insurance? Think Again

252

61 - Work From Home Employees Need a Buddy System

253

60 - A Second Swing at Entrepreneurship: The Story of Wahiwater

254

59 - Buying or Selling a Business in a Hot Market

255

58 - (Reprise of Ep. 13) All in the Family (Business)

256

57 - (Reprise of Ep. 6) Marketing: Metrics that Drive Revenue

257

56 - Have a Plan! Financial Planning for Business Owners

258

55 - Planning to Merge or Acquire? Here's a Step You May be Overlooking

259

54 - Private Equity of a Different Kind- What is Family Capital?

260

53 - Types of Employee Ownership and Why They're Good for Business

261

52 - Taking the Entrepreneurial Leap: From Employee to Co-founder of a New Bank

262

51 - The 1 Year Anniversary Show Featuring Guest Host Heather Keyes!

263

50 - The Power of Conscious Culture

264

49 - Guess Who's Center Stage in Business Today? HR!

265

48 - The Three Things that Motivate Owners to get Transition Ready

266

47 - ESOP's: Are They For You?

267

46 - The Family Business of Knutson Construction: Building for the Next 110 Years

268

45 - Getting 'Poised for Exit': Understanding Buyer Strategies

269

44 - Entrepreneurs Make Great Philanthropists!

270

43 - Let's Elevate Your Business Value!

271

42 - Wellness Works! How to Deliver Health Programs for your Employees at No Cost.

272

41 - What Do a Family Business, Eating Dog Food and PR Have in Common?

273

40 - Award Winning Columnist, Lee Schafer on Mergers & Acquisitions

274

39 - The Three R's: Repression, Resilience, Resolve

275

38 - Risk Management Insurance: An Effective Tool for Buying or Selling a Business

276

37 - Delegation is an Energy Management System

277

36 - A Fresh Perspective: Why Your Business Needs a Brand AND a Reputation Strategy

278

35 - The Role your Financial Adviser plays in a Successful Exit

279

34 - Preparing Your Financials Ahead of a Sale

280

33 - Entrepreneurs: How to Make 2021 A Strong Year!

281

32 - Identifying & Protecting your Intellectual Property

282

31 - From being "Everything to Everybody" to "Something for Somebody"

283

30 - Cybersecurity & Enterprise Value go Hand in Hand

284

29 - Taking Leaps: Serial Entrepreneurship and Diversification

285

28 - The Mini Media Approach to Building a Business

286

27 - 104 and Many More!

287

26 - Creating Messages that Connect and Matter

288

25 - Business Disruption from COVID 19 & How to Break Through

289

24 - Julie Keyes Interviews "The BS Show" Host Bob Sansevere

290

23 - She Went from Blogger to Publisher: Meet Amy Quale of Wise Ink!

291

22 - Putting 'Care' back into Healthcare for Business Owners

292

21 - Exiting a Business the Hard Way: Horror Stories from a Business Lawyer

293

20 - Commercial Insurance "Cocktails": Hybrid Solutions for Business Owners

294

19 - Julie Keyes' Entrepreneurial Journey

295

18 - Introducing, Scott Snider of the Exit Planning Institute

296

17 - Tax Planning for the Sale of a Business: Plan Early, Save More!

297

16 - Know your Worth: A Conversation about Business Valuation Post COVID

298

15 - Gandalf or Gollum? The Role of Your Business Attorney in Transition Planning

299

14 - From Harlem, to Healthcare, to candidate for Congress

300

13 - All in the Family (Business)

301

12 - Coping with 2020: A Conversation with Walk Talk Therapy

302

11 - Not Your Typical Architect: Constructing Shareholder Value

303

10 - Design your Network for Business Results. Building an IMPACT 100™

304

9 - Being a Woman-Owned Business in a Male Dominated Industry

305

8 - What the Tech is Going on?!

306

7 - Everyone Needs a Friend in Law-Making Legal Help Easy

307

6 - Marketing: Metrics that Drive Revenue

308

5 - Lessons and Tips on Enterprise Growth

309

4 - Client Attraction Chain Reaction

310

3 - From Frustrated to FOCUSED: A Roadmap to What's Next

311

2 - Olympic Connector, Nicki Vincent

312

1 - Grow or Go? Is it time to exit your business or double down with Chris Jones.

313

Consultant and author Julie Keyes debuts her podcast.