Exiting and succession are not events but complex processes that take time. The exit plan will get the process started, while the succession plan will bring everything together to allow an owner to gracefully exit the business and protect his or her wealth.

This article will address the common confusion found in differentiating a business exit from a business succession. Both are needed to successfully exit a business, unlock trapped wealth, protect one’s legacy, and successfully move the company into the next generation or to an external buyer.

Each day, my goal is to help owners. I do this by speaking to audiences and publishing as many articles as possible to protect them from making the same costly mistakes we did — even though my team was one of the lucky ones that cashed out and successfully passed the baton to our fourth-generation management team.

If you do not understand the following truths and myths, you are probably putting your HVAC business wealth at a high level of risk.