You Only Get One Shot at Exiting Your Business.
What Happens if You Get it Wrong?
Most exits are not planned. They are triggered by health issues, partner conflict, burnout, or pressure, long before an owner feels ready.
When that moment arrives, preparation determines whether you have options or regret.
Clarity™ Valuation
When the stakes are this high, guessing is not a strategy.
Clarity™ Valuation provides a buyer-objective view of value, risk, and exit readiness before critical decisions are made.
Business value is set by the market, not by what an owner hopes or needs it to be. Overestimating value and underestimating risk erodes leverage, increases taxes, and forces decisions onto timelines the owner did not choose.
A focused conversation on value, risk, and exit readiness.
Maximize Company Value for Long-Term Financial Security
Have you thought about what your life would look like if you ran out of money in your retirement years?
Exiting a business is often the single most important financial decision an owner will ever make.
You get one opportunity to do it right, and the consequences last a lifetime. Value is not created at the moment of sale. It is built over years through systems, leadership depth, risk reduction, and predictable performance. Waiting until a transaction is imminent does not just lower price. It limits buyers, reduces options, and shifts control away from the owner. How you plan and execute your exit will directly shape your independence, your lifestyle, and what is possible after the business.
At Business Transition Specialists (BTS), exit planning is not a side offering. It is our sole focus. We do not plan exits around transactions. We build businesses that can perform without their owner and command value under real buyer scrutiny. Our team works alongside you to define your options, strengthen the value of your business, and execute a disciplined exit strategy aligned with your goals, your company, and what comes next.
Our work is disciplined and intentional. Every decision is anchored in value, timing, and long-term outcomes.
The result is clarity, confidence, and a transition done on your terms.
What We Do
A CPA-led Exit Planning and Business Transition Advisory Firm
Business Transition Specialists (BTS) is a CPA-led exit planning and business transition advisory firm serving privately-held business owners. We help owners convert years of effort into lasting financial security by building businesses that are easier to operate, more valuable, and fully transferable on the owner’s terms.
Our work goes beyond preparing for a sale. BTS helps owners gain clarity after an objective valuation, whether they choose to continue operating the business, transfer ownership internally to a key employee or family member, or pursue a future transaction. Revenue growth alone does not create enterprise value. Transferability, reduced owner dependency, and strong systems do.
At its core, this work is about freedom and control. Financial discipline and predictable performance give owners the ability to step back from daily operations without sacrificing results, while reducing the uncertainty that often surrounds future transition decisions.
Financial Rigor Behind Every Decision
Every recommendation is grounded in financial discipline and evaluated through the lens of how value is created, protected, and transferred.
CPA-led financial discipline applied to decisions affecting value, tax efficiency, and long-term outcomes.
Independent buyer perspective used to identify risks and value gaps.
Structured execution plans designed to improve profitability, reduce risk, and preserve optionality.
BTS works with experienced business owners who have built successful companies over decades and have much of their net worth tied to the business. Our work helps owners retain control over decisions, direction, and timing.
Ultimately, this is about legacy. Building a business that can stand on its own ensures what an owner leaves behind is strong, intentional, and complete, whether transferred to family, a key employee, or a future buyer.
Our Focus
Business owners come to us seeking stronger cash flow, less owner dependency, clearer growth priorities, and confidence that their business can support the future they are working toward.
Explore the outcomes business owners care about most →
We help business owners:
Understand how their business would be evaluated by any successor, whether an independent buyer, key employee, family member, or management team.
Identify the risks and constraints that quietly erode value and limit transferability.
Build predictable cash flow and scalable operations.
Increase enterprise value while reducing reliance on the owner.
Create real options for exit, succession, or continued ownership.
Profit alone does not make a business transferable.
Premium outcomes, whether through sale, succession, or internal transition, depend on predictability, leadership depth, customer diversification, clean financials, and owner independence. Without these, even profitable businesses struggle to transition successfully.
This work is not about preparing paperwork for a future deal. It is about building a business that performs on its own and can support the right outcome, at the right time, on the owner’s terms.
Our Exit Planning Process
We assess the business from a buyer’s perspective to establish clarity around value, risk, and transferability.
We identify the gap between current value and what the business could command with proper preparation, then define the priorities that matter most.
We work alongside owners to implement those priorities through disciplined, repeatable execution. Rather than one-off initiatives, we apply structured cycles that create focus, accountability, and momentum without adding chaos to an already full plate.
The Result
A business that runs with predictable profits, sustainable growth, and real transferability.
The owner gains clarity on value, control over timing, and confidence in available options. Inaction is not neutral. Over time, it erodes value, increases risk, and narrows choices.
If exiting your business is likely to be the largest financial decision of your life, it deserves more than a last-minute plan.
That is what we do.
What makes BTS different
Exit planning is not a side practice. It is the practice.
Tax, Legal, and Financial Planning Matter
But, exit readiness is primarily an operational and leadership challenge. Those technical decisions only work when the business itself is scalable, transferable, and resilient.
Helping owners exit on their terms requires more than a plan on paper. It means preparing a business to withstand real buyer scrutiny and still command value. We do not create strategies that sit on a shelf. We build businesses that are ready.
How We Create Real Exit Readiness:
We evaluate your company from the perspective of an independent buyer, identifying the operational, financial, and structural factors that limit value and transferability.
We work with you and your advisory team to resolve those issues through disciplined execution.
Priorities are set clearly, ownership is defined, and accountability is built into the process.
Progress is measured in stronger performance, reduced risk, and a business that is demonstrably ready.
Our role is practical and disciplined. We stay engaged through execution, not just planning, until progress is reflected in the numbers and the business is materially stronger.
Testimonials
Business owners and trusted advisors share what disciplined exit planning makes possible.
These perspectives come from owners and advisors who understand what disciplined exit planning changes in real businesses
“I have worked with BTS for many years.
They are truly a trusted advisor to our company. and to our senior management team. They are supremely knowledgeable, practical, and really, really responsive.
I would recommend any mid-sized business owner to engage with BTS to help them through the exit planning process and general business guidance.”
“I have had the good fortune of benefiting from their guidnace and insight for almost 25 years.
When time came for my wife and I to determine how best to transfer ownership in the company we built to the next geberation, BTS helped us understnd and navigate the complexities. Not only the various options for how to structure thism but also both the short-term and long-term tax consequences.
We undertasnd our business, but many of these issues are way above our paygrade and we are thankful to have had BTS’ help and guidance through the process.
The stake too high to go this alone!”
Marc I. Solomon Partner, Weiss Serota, Chair of Business Transactions Division
Mike Wilson, President, COO OBMI
“After two failures by national firms, I looked to BTS to create our succession plan.
Ours was no easy task as the firm had been closely held by my familuy for over fifty years.
BTS made it look easy. From insurance guarantess and partnership orifuts interests to irrecovable trusts, they carried us through the labyrinth of tax, legal, and accounting issues.
Five years later, the firm was owned by my key employess and my gamily cashed out at full value - having paid no taxes.
Succession is serious business. Gowith the best, I did.”
Joseph C. Roberts, COO ForemostCo, Inc.
“BTS has great expertise in developing and implementing exit and succession planning strategies for business owners.
They understand how to bring professional advisors together to provide comprehensive exit planning solutions, and are results oriented in meeting the objective of their clients.”
W. Robert Miller, President First Florida
Who We Serve
We work with privately-held business owners who have spent years building real value and want to be intentional about what comes next.
Most of the owners we serve:
Have built successful businesses over decades.
Hold a significant portion of their net worth in the company.
Expect to exit, retire, or transition roles within the next three to ten years.
Understand that timing, structure, and preparation determine outcomes.
Want options and leverage, not pressure, when an opportunity appears.
This work is for owners who recognize that a successful exit is rarely the result of a single transaction decision. It is the result of disciplined preparation long before a sale is on the table.
If your business represents the majority of your life’s work and financial future, how you prepare for its transition matters.
Conversations That Shape Smart Exits
Real-world insights on exit planning, value creation, and life after the deal. Hosted by BTS founder and CEO Mike DeSiato, Exit This Way, is a podcast that features seasoned advisors, dealmakers, and operators discussing what actually moves value before, during, and after a transition.
