Many business owners do not fail because they lack intelligence, ambition, or access to advisors. They become stuck because they are trapped in the execution gap—the space between knowing what should happen and actually making meaningful progress.
In this session, participants will explore the three underlying causes of the execution gap: the Advisor Gap, the Alignment Gap, and the Accountability Gap. When advisors operate in silos, visions remain unclear, and execution lacks discipline, even the best succession and value growth plans struggle to gain traction.
Attendees will learn how the Certified Exit Planning Advisor® can serve as the quarterback of the advisory ecosystem, helping business owners align advisors, clarify personal and business vision, and implement the cadence, accountability, and measurement systems required to create lasting value.
Participants will leave with a practical framework, diagnostic questions, and implementation strategies that can immediately be applied within client engagements to accelerate value creation, improve owner readiness, and drive meaningful progress toward desired outcomes. The session will also demonstrate how CEPAs can move from being trusted experts to trusted implementation leaders who help owners create momentum, build value, and achieve greater freedom and optionality.
Learning Objectives:
- Identify the three root causes of the execution gap: Advisor Gap, Alignment Gap, and Accountability Gap.
- Assess a business owner’s level of execution readiness using practical diagnostic questions.
- Apply the CEPA quarterback model to align advisors around a shared strategy and desired owner outcomes.
- Help business owners establish clear personal and business vision to improve organizational alignment.
- Implement accountability rhythms, meeting cadences, and measurable execution disciplines that improve value creation and succession readiness.
- Differentiate between providing advice and leading implementation to create measurable progress and sustained value creation for business owners.
Event Details
Who Should Attend?
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Attorneys
You have close relationships with clients, and can benefit from being the first advisor to introduce the idea of exit planning.
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CPAs/Accountants
Owners participating in the State of Owner Readiness research continue to indicate that you are the No. 1 "Most Trusted Advisor." You are a natural fit to lead the exit planning team and deepen your relationship (and retention) of next generation owners.
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Wealth Managers
You’re a skilled relationship person. Being entangled into your clients’ professional lives matters as you build a strategy to manage their wealth upon them harvesting it from their business. Exit planning allows you to build a deeper relationship with your client, expands your COI network, while giving you an early seat at table well before the liquidity event.
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Financial Advisors
One of the critical ‘legs of the stool’ is personal financing planning. An owner must have a strong financial plan & contingency plan post-transition to enable them to thrive in the next act of the lives personally and financially. Exit planning brings this future mindset into the present. Exit is now.
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Valuation Analysts
Valuation is both a billable engagement AND an opportunity to provide owners some perspective on how to accelerate value drivers (and deal with value killers). Use exit planning to make that valuation into a longer term value acceleration engagement.
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Investment Bankers
Only 2 of every 10 businesses that come to market actually sell. Learn how exit planning can bring attractive AND ready business to your purview.
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Estate Planners
Exit planning is a natural fit for estate planners who want to operate more holistically with their owner clients.
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Strategic Consultants
One of the most critical roles in exit planning is building transferable value. Strategic consultants have the ability to expand options and drive rapid business value that affect performance today.
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Insurance Professionals
Exit planning addresses the 5 D's. So do you. Approach the risk conversation differently with exit planning.
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Mergers & Acquisition Advisors
Proper exit planning causes less deals to fall through at the last minute. Connect with CEPAs to build your healthy deal flow network.
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Commercial Lenders
One of the best relationships a business owner makes is with their banker. How can you help your corporate clients think about the future and ensure financial continuity? Answer: exit planning.
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Family Business Advisors
More than 50% of lower middle market business owners would prefer to transition to the next generation. Help them succeed with exit planning strategies.
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Other Professional Advisors
Regardless of your unique specialty, there is seat at the exit planning table for you. Learn more at www.EarnCEPA.com.
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Private Business Owners
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Members of Family Business Boards
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Professional Advisors
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Business Consultants
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Other Business Professionals
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Business Owners
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Business Owners & Their Trusted Advisors
EXIT PLANNING IS GOOD BUSINESS STRATEGY
The Exit Planning Institute, provides Financial Advisors, Accountants, Consultants, and other advisors of business owners with the critical education to differentiate themselves and add value to their existing client relationships through a credential, conference, courses, and content. Download the CEPA brochure for more information.
ABOUT THE PRESENTER
Renee Russo is a powerhouse in the exit planning and business advisory space, known for her rare ability to integrate value acceleration, operational systemization, and personal transformation to set business owners truly free. As Founder and CEO of Rise Up Business Coaching, Renee leads a team of elite female advisors who deliver high-touch, results-driven coaching rooted in one mission: helping entrepreneurs build transferable value, unlock personal wealth, and achieve real freedom in both business and life.
A Certified Exit Planning Advisor (CEPA®), Renee’s work is grounded in the Value Acceleration Methodology. She brings a strategic, real-world lens to helping owners prepare for exit—on their terms and timeline—while aligning business, personal, and financial goals. Her background as a Professional EOS Implementer® and Certified Outgrow Advisor allows her to embed scalable operating systems that drive sustainable growth and shift the owner from the day-to-day to the Owner’s Box.
Renee’s proprietary Ready to Rise Energy Management System complements her business strategies with a powerful framework that helps entrepreneurs overcome internal barriers to growth. Drawing from personal experience—including a high-stakes business turnaround and her own “double exit” from a marriage and company—she is uniquely equipped to help founders navigate complexity, regain control, and chart a new path forward.
At Rise Up Business Coaching, Renee has architected an end-to-end advisory model that prioritizes strategic, value-enhancing initiatives to accelerate enterprise value. Her approach focuses on six core business value drivers—financials, sales, marketing, leadership, recruiting, and productivity—and three essential owner freedom drivers: personal planning, financial planning, and succession planning. Through customized strategic roadmaps, live KPI tracking, and consistent accountability, Renee helps clients create a business that is scalable, transferable, and aligned with the owner’s long-term vision.
Recognized for her sky-high energy, compassionate heart, and relentless solution focus, Renee has guided hundreds of leaders through pivotal inflection points. Whether helping owners 10x their valuations, reduce reliance on themselves, or finally get clarity on what they want from their business and life, she brings an unwavering commitment to unlocking potential.
As a dynamic speaker and bestselling author, Renee brings thought leadership and real-world tools to national stages, consistently energizing audiences of advisors, founders, and professionals alike.
Renee’s message is clear: when we create value for business owners, we create choices—and in those choices lies their freedom.