The Situation
The owner of a profitable public relations agency located in the Southwest had begun to think about succession and what she wanted to do when she finally decided to leave her firm. After sitting in one of TobinLeff's webinars, she decided to reach out and learn more about her options. She had also started taking the initial steps to put in place an ownership transition plan on her own by offering minority shares to a couple of the company's top managers. However, she had no idea how that would play out as a long-term plan, nor was she aware of what should come next in order for the transition to be smooth for all involved.
The TobinLeff Solution
Our team worked with her to structure an ownership transition plan that would enable the firm’s two senior managers to acquire the company through a three-phase process, all with minimal outlay of personal cash from the acquiring partners. In order for this to take place, though, the firm needed to continue on its steady levels of growth while also maintaining its profit level. So we rolled up our sleeves, worked on an in-depth SWOT analysis, researched the PR agency's competition, and then facilitated the development of a strategic plan. The fruit of our efforts resulted in, among other initiatives, a repositioning of the PR firm, a new website, the acquisition of a design practice, and a strengthening of the firm’s digital capabilities to ensure the plan would be both smooth and successful. The firm has remained on-track as they'd hope for the succession since then, as proven by our annual plan reviews.
Get in contact with the TobinLeff team today to learn if ownership transition of employees is the right move for your company, or what other actionable steps you can take today to prepare for the future of your business and exit plan.
