Bill Schawbel, CEO of Schawbel Corporation for the last 30 years, always had a knack for philanthropy. His story demonstrates how entrepreneurs can make a difference in their business while making a difference in the world at the same time. From his childhood, Bill has understood how to give back. Bill’s story is remarkable; it is about both being a gifted entrepreneur and a gifted philanthropist.

Alper was unsure of his exit strategy. Like most owner/CEOs, he had never planned one before. Many unanticipated events were happening at once. Alper openly touches on the emotional toll and pressure he felt from selling the 3rd generation family business to a non-family buyer. Fred felt lost, unsure what to do with his shares of the company. This video is a rich opportunity to learn from Alder’s experience. The key take away is the importance of planning the exit before it is too late. 

At first Alper felt comfortable leaving the company to his successor. Both men had the common vision for maintaining the culture of the company. Initially Alper continued in a supporting role to the new CEO, which he later realized was a mistake. Alper candidly talks about this misstep and how he would step completely away to allow the new CEO to freely express his own style of management, if he could do it all over again. 

Fred Alper, Chairman of 22 years at Morris Alper Inc., tells us about the origin of the business, which his grandfather started as Morris Alper & Sons. The food brokerage company rapidly grew into a business selling branded items. When Fred Alper entered the company in 1970, he helped build the business by bringing in highly qualified managers, including a young man who had quality, big firm experience and a wonderful work ethic. This young man eventually succeeded Fred as CEO, with Fred’s absolute confidence. This motivating video gives insights into Fred Alper’s keen perceptions of running and growing Morris Alper Inc. for over 20 years as he prepared for his own succcession.

As the deal unfolded, it became clear that the buyer of Vanguard Sailboats was not on the same page as Chip. The transaction experience extracted an emotional toll on Chip - managing both the business and the sales process was a challenge. The emotional roller coaster proved to be stressful, but persistence and patience were the key factors that allowed Chip to have full confidence in every party involved in the strategic plan. He advises to plan ahead to make sure the business is in good hands upon succession. 

A stable history at Vanguard Sailboats made the company credible. In this video, Chip outlines the unsolicited offer to buy his business and a plan to sell that took nearly a year to perfect. Chip describes how his plan to sell the business had to be tweaked along the way due to complexities in the sales transaction. Chip discuss the challenge of getting to win/win.

As President and CEO of Vanguard Sailboats, Chip John talks about what sparked his passion for sailboats and his inspiration to get into the sailboat building industry. Chip has a compelling story of disciplined rapid growth and dealing with an acquisition and merger with his biggest competitor, which sparked a 3-fold revenues growth which helped setup the business for its exit. 

A key factor in the process of selling a business is letting go. Comer talks candidly about the emotions he encountered when leaving the company he had been part of for many years. Sometime after the transaction was complete, it became clear that the company was in danger. Reluctantly, Kevin offered to come back as CEO to get the business back on track. In short time Kevin was able to transition to the Board of Directors. In this video, Kevin also shares his experience with preparing for retirement and his life of leisure golfing and kayaking in Florida.

As Kevin approached his 60’s, he decided he was ready to move out of the company. His first line of inquiry was about “when and how” the process should start. Comer realized that the planning process of selling a business must be very intricate and complex. Rather than settling on the first offer, the company had to keep the opportunities open in order to find the best offer. In the process, Kevin learned that the business plan is a crucial component of the process of selling the company. Comer encourages owners to trust themselves, reminding us “no one knows your business like you know your business.” After months of hard work with the right investment banks and advisors, Comer finally felt comfortable with the development of a solid business plan to execute an exit planning strategy. 

In this video, Kevin Comer of Vision Government focuses on how the company became a national player by planning to be noticed on a much larger scale. Vision Government Solutions Inc. is a company that sells software to local governments. Kevin joined the company in 1986 as a sales person and was quickly promoted to Vice President of Sales in 1987 and President in 1993. The expansion of the business from New Hampshire to Rhode Island and Connecticut put the company in a comfortable position to seek greater national growth, new product development, and acquisitions of other companies.