Business continuation is the stress test of every intentional ownership transition plan. Even the most thoughtful exit roadmap can unravel overnight if an owner or shareholder is hit by one of the “5 D’s”: death, disability, divorce, disagreement, or distress. These events are not hypothetical—they are predictable, high-impact disruptions that can force premature ownership change, trigger valuation collapse, fracture leadership teams, and place families and employees in immediate jeopardy. Two experienced advisors will share personal client stories where a single “D” tested (or exposed) a business, highlighting what worked, what broke, and what they would never leave unaddressed again.
Learning Objectives:
By attending this session, advisors will:
- Recognize how the 5 D’s threaten business continuity and value. Understand the distinct risks each “D” poses to ownership, leadership, and transition readiness.
- Lead effective planning conversations before a crisis occurs. Confidently guide owners and shareholders through critical “what-if” discussions that surface vulnerabilities and align expectations.
- Connect identified risks to practical continuity solutions. Translate 5 D exposure into targeted planning actions that strengthen business continuity within a 3–5-year transition timeline.
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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
Meet Sam Boddicker:
Sam Boddicker is a financial advisor, Certified Exit Planning Advisor (CEPA®) professional, and coffee enthusiast who focuses on simplifying and stewarding the financial affairs of affluent households, businesses, and business owners. Known for leading with education and meeting clients exactly where they are, he brings clarity and confidence to complex financial decisions.
Acting as a “Quarterback,” Sam helps clients build their dream team by collaborating with the other professionals in their lives—CPAs, attorneys, M&A advisors, and more—to create a unified advisory network centered on each client’s personal definition of success. Sam believes that achieving one’s unique needs, wants, and wishes is a lifelong, iterative journey, and no one should navigate it alone. Through partnership with Sam, their team, and Edward Jones, clients gain a personalized network of professionals deeply invested in them and their stories.
How and Why:
Minimizing Taxes:
By building a proactive and coordinated team, he leverages constantly evolving tax laws to craft ongoing, agile strategies designed to reduce clients’ tax burdens.
Founder Mentality:
As a business owner and CEPA® professional, he supports entrepreneurs long before a purchase agreement is in sight. With an emphasis on enterprise value, Sam helps owners shift from working in the business to working on it—reducing continuity risk and unlocking additional benefits along the way. Their practice offers a dedicated, customizable process that (1) gets owners where they want to be by (2) getting the business where it needs to be, while (3) providing employees and the community with meaningful resources such as financial education and collaborative support.
Family and Personalization:
Whether the family one is born into or the family one creates, he takes time to understand each client’s dynamics, relationship with money, values, and long-term goals. This insight allows Sam to craft tailored strategies that help clients achieve their most important needs, wants, and wishes in life.
Meet Robin Edgar:
Robin Edgar is the Chief Exit Officer and Wealth Strategist who helps business owners and leaders align their Faith, Family, and Finance to create impact that lasts. With 35+ years in the trenches, she’s built a reputation for cutting through complexity—designing exit strategies, tax solutions, cash flow and wealth systems that free people to focus on what matters most. Robin’s signature 90-minute strategy session is designed to help leaders refocus and redirect their lives with clarity and confidence. Robin is also an author, wife, mother, grandmother, and Jesus Lover, whose hallmark approach is to always “Begin with the End in Mind.”