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V O L . X X V N O. X M AY 1 3 , 2 0 1 9 20 W E A LT H M A N A G E M E N T / R E T I R E M E N T F O C U S As more baby boomers enter their golden years, a 2016 report by the Denver- based Business Enterprise Institute looked at the problems business owners face as they retire. It found that only 17% of owners have a written business-exit plan, even though most want to leave within the next decade and three out of four would do so today if their financial security were assured. Reasons given for the lack of plan- ning ranged from "I'll act when ready" to "I don't feel a sense of urgency about this issue" to "I have no obstacles to exiting." In fact, the number of owners who believed they could leave their busi- ness at any time doubled between 2014 and 2016, to 26%. More troubling is that owners rarely seek advice from an outside expert, preferring to keep it in the family. Getting caught off guard Maine has lots of real-life examples of business owners getting caught off guard. ey include Ron Blake, the 68-year-old owner of Cote Bros. Sewing Machines in Turner. Four years ago, he hired someone he was groom- ing as a successor for the retail division and with whom he had a gentleman's agreement to sell the business so that he could retire. A day after that deal was supposed to go through, the intended buyer backed out, blaming an inability to get financing. "is is the second time I've been burnt and I should have known better," admits Blake, who's giving up the retail operations after a three-day inventory fire sale and a last-minute Facebook plea for anyone interested in buying the business by May 9. "is is a case where nice guys finish last." Blake, who still went ahead with a two-week Florida vacation with his wife, Lisa Cote-Blake, says he will "semi- retire" upon his return, working three or four days a week from home selling industrial sewing machines and parts. Reflecting on the failed deal, Blake says it may have had a better chance had he owned rather than leased his retail shop and had a firm exit plan in place. "I thought I had one but I didn't have it locked up," he says. at may be sound advice for Marcia Feller, owner and founder of the Couleur Collection women's clothing and art gallery on U.S. Route 1 in Falmouth. About to turn 72, she says she's too busy to plan retirement. "I think about it all the time and I'm doing absolutely nothing about it right » C O N T I N U E D F RO M P R E V I O U S PA G E B a n g o r • 207.947.4501 • www.rudmanwinchell.com • MaineCare Planning • Asset Protection Trusts • Proactive & Crisis Long-Term Care Planning YOU'VE WORKED HARD... Let our attorneys protect your legacy! It always surprises me how unprepared business owners are for transition. — David Jean Altus Exit Strategies now," she says. "When I think about slowing down and not having a big component of this business, I panic." But she does take comfort in extend- ing her lease on the 3,600-square-foot space every five years. "My business is not for sale, but if at some point I find a younger woman who wants to take it on, this is a valu- able lease," she says. Succession success stories Maine succession success stories include Sheridan Construction in Fairfield, which has gone through three owner- ship transitions since it was founded as a family construction firm in 1947. e last was in 2017, when Mitchell Sammons and Daniel Wildes bought the company from Brad Nelson, who retired. Sammons, who owns 51%, serves as president, while Wildes is senior vice president and chief operating officer. e two talk about succession planning once a month as Sammons hopes to retire in a couple of years. "We continue to look at succession and we'll probably follow the pattern we have in the past," says Sammons. "I'm now 66, and my plan is to work out some sort of transition to him [Wildes] and his next management team." ey work closely with David Jean, managing partner of Altus Exit Strategies LLC in Portland, a subsidiary of Albin, Randall & Bennett CPAs. Jean is a CPA and one of 200 exit planners in the United States — and the only one north of Boston, he says — certified by Colorado's Business Enterprise Institute. Focusing mainly on mid-sized firms with an enterprise value between $3 mil- lion and $10 million, Jean describes his work as "holistic exit planning" rather than just transactions. at work usually begins with a readiness assessment of 22 questions to business owners. "It always surprises me how unpre- pared business owners are for transition," P H O T O / C O U R T E S Y RO N B L A K E Ron Blake and his wife, Lisa Cote-Blake, were forced to rethink retirement plans after a handshake deal to sell the business fell through.

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