BXO Speaker's Bureau

Shark Tank’s Kevin O’Leary Guest Speak at BXO

2024 Vistage New York: The Art of the Acquisition

2024 Business Owner Summit: The Foundation Of Understanding M&A

2023 HVAC Organization: The Art of the Exit

2023 Business Owner Summit: Navigating Growth

Entrepreneurs Organization (EO)Masterclass Expert on Exit and Growth Planning

2023 Vistage: 2023 Business Planning Workshop

2022 Tiger 21 Roundtable: Art of the Acquisition

2022 Vistage Tri-State Chair: 3/4/5 Business Planning

2022 EO: Art of the Acquisition

2022 BXO Webinar: Three Steps to Maximizing Profitability

2022 Founder's Summit: The Importance of Advisory Boards

2022 BXO Webinar: Planning for 2023

2022 Vistage: 3/4/5 Business Planning

2022 New York EO Chapter: Presentation (Art Of The Acquisition) 

2021 New York EO Chapter: Presentation (Art of the Exit)

2021 New Jersey EO Chapter: Presentation (Art of the Exit)

2021 Atlanta EO Chapter: Presentation (Art of the Exit)

2021 Malaysia EO Chapter: Presentation (Art Of the Exit)

Young Entrepreneurs Organization (YPO)

2021 New York: Presentation (Art of the Exit)

Vistage CEO Network

2022 VISTAGE New York: (Art of the Exit)

2021 VISTAGE Boston: (Art of the Exit)

2021 VISTAGE Denver: (Art of the Exit)

2022 CohnReznick i-Global Expert Panel How Cybersecurity Can Impact a Transaction

2022 Assurex Private Client Conference (Panel Expert & Breakout Presenter)

2022 47th Annual Notre Dame Trust & Estate Conference

2021 Horton Business Owner Webinar Conference Presenter (24 Month Road To Recovery)

Published:

2019 Pitchbook: Mastering The Sales Process- From LOI To Close

2021 Trust &Estate.com: Embracing Diversity & Inclusion in Family Business

New Presentation that was presented at the 2023 Meta Business Owner Summit 

The Question:

Does your client and/or business owner prospect struggle with creating and implementing a growth plan? This session helps build the fundamental process for unlocking growth.

Navigating Growth is an engaging presentation and workshop designed to illuminate the six key planning points essential for boosting and maintaining revenue. This program is perfectly suited for groups of business owners eager to assist their members in devising a robust growth strategy and integrating year-end planning. Participants will receive a comprehensive workbook, an invaluable tool for setting objectives and crafting plans for business accountability.

Delivery Formats:

Presentation, Podcast, Conference, Webinar

Delivery Time:

Short Version: 30 minutes

Long Version: 60 minutes

One of the  highest-ranked webinar/masterclasses in Entrepreneur Organization & VISTAGE

The Question:

Does your client and/or business owner prospect understand the importance of being prepared for an exit? 90% of transactions happen outside the control of the business owner.

Whether you're a CEO Founder looking to exit your business or build a better business, The Art Of The Exit Masterclass course is an educational program that offers CEO Founders the opportunity to build their knowledge around increasing business valuation and exit preparedness. If you are thinking of selling in the near future or years from now, the key to controlling your exit is always being prepared. The Art Of The Exit Masterclass course offers the foundational process and knowledge needed to successfully prepare both you and your business for a successful exit.

Delivery Formats:

Presentation, Podcast, Conference, Webinar

Delivery Time:

Short Version: 30 minutes

Long Version: 60 minutes

One of the  highest-ranked webinar/masterclasses in Entrepreneur Organization & VISTAGE

The Question:

As a business owner, do you understand the importance of incorporating acquisition as a part of a well-thought-out growth strategy?

Whether you're a CEO Founder looking to exit your business or build a better business, The Art Of Acquisition Masterclass course is an educational program that offers CEO Founders the opportunity to build their knowledge around increasing business valuation and EBITDA through the art of acquisition. Private equity and strategic buyers use acquisitions to build value quickly. As a business owner you can use acquisitions to grow revenue, customer base, product line, and build operational efficiencies. All key drivers to increasing value. Learn how to use one of the most important tools to establish growth.

Delivery Formats:

Presentation, Podcast, Conference, Webinar

Delivery Time:

Short Version: 30 minutes

Long Version: 60 minutes

The Question:

Are you confused about the M&A process when it comes to selling your business or finding a buy-side partner for acquisitions?

Brett Dearing, CEPA, CM&AA, Partner at Cerity Partners, and Founder of Business Owners Exchange (BXO) will discuss the key elements that make up the foundation of mergers & acquisitions. Regardless if you are selling your company or looking to find an investment banker to find companies to acquire, there are many pitfalls that can cost you time, money, and resources. On this topic we will cover:

• The foundational components of an M&A transaction
• What you should know about the process and how to prepare
• Defining milestones
• How to negotiate with advisors you want to hire
• How to set up for a successful M&A transaction

Delivery Formats:

Presentation, Conference, Webinar

Delivery Time:

Short Version: 30 minutes

Long Version: 60 minutes

The Question:

Do you fully understand how the pandemic has impacted your business? Do you know how to create a growth plan for the new normal?

Brett Dearing, CEPA, CM&AA, Partner at Cerity Partners and Founder of Business Owners Exchange (BXO) and outsourced COO will discuss in detail the effects of the pandemic and the potential impact on future opportunities to grow. In this module, Brett will cover the importance of having the Through-Cycle Growth Mindset. This is a great module if you have business owners that are trying to create a growth strategy for the new normal. The presentation includes workshops, breakouts, and an online module for business owners to step through at their convenience.

Delivery Formats:

Presentation, Podcast, Conference, Webinar

Delivery Time:

Short Version: 30 minutes

Long Version: 60 minutes

The Question:

Are you struggling with maintaining or growing profitability

Brett Dearing, CEPA, CM&AA, Partner at Cerity Partners and Founder of Business Owners Exchange (BXO) and outsourced COO will discuss how to rebuild and maintain profitability. We will cover the importance of the quantity equation and scale as the components to long-term profitability. 

Includes:

Business Owner Educational Module

Delivery Formats:

Presentation, Podcast, Conference, Webinar

Delivery Time:

Short Version: 30 minutes

Long Version: 60 minutes

The Question:

As a business owner, do you understand the potential impact an advisory board can have on their business? A business owner that uses advisory boards describes them as "Rocket Fuel" for growth. 

Brett Dearing, CEPA, CM&AA, Partner at Cerity Partners and Founder of Business Owners Exchange (BXO) will talk about the importance of having a formal advisory board. Brett will also share key secrets about forming a functional advisory board focused on the growth of the business. Business owners often think that their accountant or attorney is their advisory board. This is not the case unless there is a formalized annual growth plan with KPI's and key objectives.  Areas that will be discussed:

• Performance statistics around companies that have a formal advisory board
• The winning formula for building an advisory board
• How to incorporate KPI's into your advisory board meetings
• Who should be a part of your advisory board
• What does a structure look like for an advisory board

Delivery Formats:

Presentation, Conference, Webinar

Delivery Time:

Short Version: 30 minutes

Long Version: 60 minutes

The Question:

Do you understand the power of incorporating organic and acquired growth as a long-term plan to build your business?

Brett Dearing, CEPA, CM&AA, Partner at Cerity Partners, and Founder of Business Owners Exchange (BXO) will walk through the private equity model for growth extensively and how business owners can incorporate the same strategy to build a customer base, services, geographic reach, and market share. The growth equation is specific to each business owner. Brett will walk the audience through how to assess and create their own detailed growth plan. Areas that will be discussed:

• Understanding your growth equation
• Structuring acquired growth
• Identifying growth targets
• Building your acquisition team
• The fundamentals of accretive acquisitions

 Delivery Formats:

Presentation, Conference, Webinar

Delivery Time:

Short Version: 30 minutes

Long Version: 60 minutes

The Question:

Does your client and or business owner prospect understand the power of utilizing the right KPI's for their business?

Brett Dearing, CEPA, CM&AA, Partner at Cerity Partners and Founder of Business Owners Exchange (BXO) will talk about Key Performance Indicators and how they are only as good as what they are focused on. Today, KPI's are the new talk and positioned as the easy fix to jump start the growth of your business. It takes time and research to fully understand what components of your business you need to focus on. Growth and revenue are the bi-products of other key variables in your business. Do you know what those variables are? Areas that will be discussed:

• Understanding the levers of growth for your business
• Getting to the right data 
• Building transparency through KPI's
• How to incorporate into your growth plan
• Getting your team to become accountable for their KPI's

Delivery Formats:

Presentation, Conference, Webinar

Delivery Time:

Short Version: 30 minutes

Long Version: 60 minutes

Half Day Workshop

The Question:

Does your client and/or business owner prospect understand their exit options?

Brett Dearing, CEPA, CM&AA, Partner at Cerity Partners and Founder of Business Owners Exchange (BXO) and outsourced COO will take a business owner inside the beginning stages of understanding exit options. Depending on the primary exit option, there are specific steps business owners need to take to prepare themselves. Brett will walk the business owner, step-by-step, through each exit option, the process and the potential impact of not being prepared.

Delivery Formats:

Presentation, Conference, Webinar

Delivery Time:

Short Version: 30 minutes

Long Version: 60 minutes

The Question:

Does your client and/or business owner prospect understand that planning well in advance of the exit has saved owners millions in proceeds?

Brett Dearing, CEPA, CM&AA, Partner at Cerity Partners and Founder of Business Owners Exchange (BXO) will discuss in detail the key elements that create the foundation of a good financial plan. Brett will also cover the planning timeline and which advisors need to be involved in each part of the process. In this presentation, tax planning will be covered at a high level as a part of the financial planning process. Areas that will be discussed:

• How to start the process of financial planning
• The type of valuation needed for the planning process
• Conceptual tax strategies to prepare for the transaction
• Post-transaction investment strategy

Delivery Formats:

Presentation, Conference, Webinar

Delivery Time:

Short Version: 30 minutes

Long Version: 60 minutes

The Question:

Does your client and/or business owner prospect understand the power of Exit Planning and how it can positively impact their outcome?

Brett Dearing, CEPA, CM&AA, Partner at Cerity Partners and Founder of Business Owners Exchange (BXO) will take a business owner through the three pillars of exit planning. Brett will also cover the process of exit planning and how it supports the sales process. The key benefit is it allows you as the owner to view your business from a buyer's perspective and identify issues in your business that can negatively impact the sale price before the sale. Exit Planning executed properly puts money back in the pocket of the business owner. Areas to be discussed:

• How long an effective exit planning process should take
• What are the pillars to exit planning
• What happens if you decide not to incorporate exit planning
• How an action plan unlocks enterprise value
• How to start exit planning

Delivery Formats:

Presentation, Conference, Webinar

Delivery Time:

Short Version: 30 minutes

Long Version: 60 minutes

Half Day Workshop

The Question:

Does your client and or business owner prospect understand that the biggest impact to the value of their business is buyer suggested discounts during the due-diligence process?

Brett Dearing, CEPA, CM&AA, Partner at Cerity Partners and Founder of Business Owners Exchange (BXO) will discuss key elements leading up to the due diligence process and how not having a complete exit plan will cost the seller real money. The due diligence process is an evaluation process used by an interested buyer to better understand the selling business, the risks in potentially becoming an owner of that business, and if the information stated in the Confidential Information Memorandum (CIM) match.  There is a legal component which makes up about 10% - 20% of the process.  The remaining 80% - 90% of this evaluation process focuses on the intangibles. The process is not only just checking financials and projections for the business, its gaining a strong understanding of the business model, how the company conducts business, works with and services customers, vendor relationships, the talent of employees, and most importantly, how your business competes against other businesses in that industry. Areas that will be discussed:

• Four key parts of the due diligence process
• When in the sales process buyers and sellers engage in due diligence
• Where is due diligence completed
• How should a business owner prepare for due diligence
• Review a sample request for information by a buyer for the due diligence process

Delivery Formats:

Presentation, Conference, Webinar

Delivery Time:

Short Version: 30 minutes

Long Version: 60 minutes

Workshop: Perform a mock due-diligence process

The Question:

Does your client and/or business owner prospect understand the sales process leading up to and including the close of the transaction?

Brett Dearing, CEPA, CM&AA, Partner at Cerity Partners and Founder of Business Owners Exchange (BXO) will take the audience through the the rigors of the sales process. In this presentation, Brett will cover all the key areas of preparations needed as well as how buyers can use the due-diligence process to discount the value of the business. 47% of all transactions fail in the due-diligence stage of the process, but this is not the only place where a deal can run aground. The importance of this presentation is to help owners understand the sales process so you can be prepared from a planning perspective but most importantly be mentally prepared. Areas that will be discussed:

• The process leading up to the LOI
• The rules of engagement during LOI Process
• The investment owners make during the process
• How discounts happen during LOI
• Closing terms (Reps & Warranties)
• We will cover earn-outs, equity rolls, and the math behind the performance metrics

 Delivery Formats:

Presentation, Conference, Webinar

Delivery Time:

Short Version: 30 minutes

Long Version: 60 minutes

The Question:

Does your client and/or business owner prospect understand that there are risk factors that can make their business unattractive to potential buyers?

Brett Dearing, CEPA, CM&AA, Partner at Cerity Partners and Founder of Business Owners Exchange (BXO) will take a business owner through the process of assessing the attractiveness of their business to a potential buyer. Many business owners run their businesses without an exit in mind. Then when the time comes to sell, they find out that the way they have been running the business is not attractive to perspective buyers and if the buyer is interested they will only buy the business at a meaningful discount. Two topics we will discuss is:

• How not to become part of the 80% of businesses that don't sell
• The Risk Equation: Risk in your business equals discounts to Enterprise Value at sale

In this presentation, Brett will cover the most common reasons:

1. Owner Reliance
2. Lack of:
   • Management Strength
   • Financial Reporting
   • Business Systems

Selling a business is one of the most difficult challenges facing a business owner. It will be nearly impossible if you and the business are not prepared in advance of the transaction. 

Delivery Formats:

Presentation, Conference, Webinar

Delivery Time:

Short Version: 30 minutes

Long Version: 60 minutes

The Question:

Does your client and/or business owner prospect understand that having the wrong transaction team could cost them millions?

Brett Dearing, CEPA, CM&AA, Partner at Cerity Partners and Founder of Business Owners Exchange (BXO) will discuss the importance of building the right transaction team and how they will need to work together to achieve the desired outcome. There are a lot of interpersonal dynamics between advisors, and as an owner, you want to make sure everyone is on the same page. Areas that will be discussed:

• Who should be a part of your transaction team
• When do you start the process of hiring them
• Outlining your mission statement for the transaction team
• Roles and responsibilities for each member
• The cost of having the wrong transaction team
• How to project manage the transaction so you can stay focused on continuing to run the business

Delivery Formats:

Presentation, Conference, Webinar

Delivery Time:

Short Version: 30 minutes

Long Version: 60 minutes

The Question:

Does your client and or business owner prospect understand that without the proper life planning before the transaction? 63% of business owners go through seller's remorse within 16 months of the transaction?

Brett Dearing, CEPA, CM&AA, Partner at Cerity Partners and Founder of Business Owners Exchange (BXO) will discuss what leads up to seller's remorse and how it can impact every element of post transaction life. Not having a life plan leaves business owners with a sense of being lost and not being prepared for the next chapter. The key take away is that seller's remorse does not happen after the sale. It happens before the sale and can cause some owners to back out of a transaction all together. We will discuss:

• The secrets behind seller's remorse
• How to build a personal plan for the "Next Chapter"
• Defining your legacy
• Defining your force, motivation & passion
• Becoming comfortable with the reasoning for exiting a business
• Putting personal goals first
• Addressing your fears

Delivery Formats:

Presentation, Conference, Webinar

Delivery Time:

Short Version: 30 minutes

Long Version: 60 minutes