Why We're Better

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   The greater the intermediary’s experience, the better the expected outcome.

When you contact a typical business brokerage or M&A advisory firm, the person who handles your inquiry is likely to be someone with relatively little experience in actually selling businesses. That person is known as a “floor person” and floor duty is a specific period of time on a specific date in which the “floor person” handles all incoming prospective client inquiries. Floor duty is normally allocated by management based on a number of criteria, but experience in actually selling businesses is seldom a major one. Given that in most intermediary firms (business brokerages and M&A advisory firms) the vast majority of associates are relatively new, rather than experienced, the person who handles your initial inquiry and will normally be assigned to you to handle your exit, is likely to be relatively inexperienced.

When you contact Optimal Exit Solutions you will be dealing directly with an intermediary with extensive experience in the valuation and sale of privately-held businesses.

You will find few intermediaries (business brokers / M&A advisors) in Northern California with over 15 years of experience, and even fewer with over 20 years of experience. Optimal Exit Solutions has over 33 years of experience in the valuation and sale of privately-held businesses.

In addition to extensive experience as a business intermediary and business valuation consultant, our founder, Mr. Joseph Miesch, has earned a Master's Degree in Business Administration (MBA) and worked on the professional staff Alexander Grant & Company (now Grant Thornton) CPA’s, an international public accounting firm. 

               A better outcome starts with a better approach.

Too many business intermediaries (business brokers / M&A advisors) are primarily focused on obtaining a listing, rather than discovering and addressing the needs of the client. The reason for the strong emphasis on getting the listing first and addressing other important issues later, is that there is a perpetually huge turnover in our industry and a large portion of those involved at any point in time are relatively new and have little experience in actually valuing and selling businesses. To the new and inexperienced intermediary, the first few years are typically quite challenging financially and the only way survive is to sell something and to do so quickly. This creates a culture where the emphasis is getting the listing first, then figuring out how to sell the business later. This situation is not really beneficial for either the intermediary or the business owner, but it is all too often what actually occurs. Optimal Exit Solutions client-centered approach puts the interests of the client first and places the critical steps of the exit into their proper sequence. 

Our approach is different, because it focuses on providing the business owner with critical information needed to decide whether or not the business is ready to be marketed, before he / she enters into an agreement with an intermediary to market the business for sale and obtain potential buyers. Before entering into a representation agreement with a business owner, we assist the business owner in determining whether now is the right time to put the business on the market or whether it is better to wait for a more opportune time. If the business owner’s decision is to wait, we can provide consulting services in the interim to create additional value and bring a higher selling price when the business is placed on the market. More importantly, our process allows the business owner to become informed about critical issues related to a proposed exit before the business owner signs a listing agreement, commits to allowing a broker market the business for a year or more, and expends time and resources necessary to prepare the business for placing it on the market. 

If you don’t know where you want to go, it is unlikely that you will get to where you       want to be (at least anytime soon).

The Optimal Exit Solutions’ approach involves first assessing the business owner’s personal and financial goals for the exit and for life thereafter, then assisting the business owner in assembling a group of professionals, who need to interact with each other to provide the owner with answers about what is necessary to achieve those goals. It is only with the benefit of that critical information from the seller’s professional advisors, that the business owner is equipped with the necessary information to make informed, intelligent decisions on how to proceed in formulating an effective exit plan and to go forward in properly executing that plan.

Mr. Miesch earned his MBA in 1977 and worked on the professional staff of Alexander Grant & Company, CPA's (currently known as Grant Thornton, CPA's), an international public accounting firm.  He has completed extensive coursework in business valuation, including advanced courses in specific valuation subject areas. He passed the Institute of Business Appraiser’s test for a full business appraiser’s designation in 1994, and has given seminars on business valuation methodologies to professional groups for CPA's involved in litigation support.

You will find that our fees are similar to those charged by other business intermediary firms. What is very different about Optimal Exit Solutions in comparison to those firms is the superior experience and expertise that we offer.

When you entrust the management and coordination of your exit to Optimal Exit Solutions, you can rest assured in the knowledge that it will be personally handled by a well-seasoned professional, one with over 32 years in valuing and selling privately-held businesses, and not someone with lesser experience and therefore less ability to ensure that your desired outcome is realized. If you are like most business owners, you have invested huge amounts of time, effort and personal wealth into making your business what it is today. Given the huge investment you have made in your business and what is at stake in exiting it, doesn’t it make sense to get the most for your money by engaging a thoroughly seasoned professional to guide you through the process? We think so, and look forward to the opportunity to discuss your future plans for yourself and your business .