THE DUFF TORNEY TEAM

For Business Owners Looking to Sell, Does an ESOP Make Sense?

Business owners considering selling their companies usually have a few options – such as selling to a local competitor, family member(s), a large chain, or a private equity firm. But another lesser-known option is selling the business to your employees through an Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP)…

Determining the Value of a Business– Understanding Valuation

Most owners work constantly to build their businesses. They are always seeking to find new customers, increase revenues and maximize profits. Yet, many don’t know how much their business is worth. Is it worth $10 million? $25 million? And how is the value determined? 

Entrepreneurs– The Paradox of Investing Outside Your Business

Most entrepreneurs have a single focus – working to make their business successful until it is generating steady profits. To achieve that goal, they often invest 100 percent of their annual profits back into the business…

The Four Exit Paths

So, you’ve started thinking about exiting the business. It happens to every owner at some point. We spend so much time building the business and running the business. But at some point, we start to think about retirement…

Key Man Risk

Many business owners assume their business is more valuable than it actually is. One of the biggest reasons? Key man risk. Key man risk is the concept that a business is highly dependent on the contributions of one (or a few) person(s). Think of Berkshire Hathaway without Warren Buffett, or Tesla without Elon Musk…

The Benefits of Owning Qualified Small Business Stock

Founders of small businesses have many tax benefits while running their business and may qualify for tax advantages when selling the business.  Certain kinds of company stock have an unusual benefit: In certain cases, it enables a person to avoid paying capital gains taxes…

Tax Implications for Business Sales

The single largest impact on the financial success of an entrepreneur is the sale of their business. Turns out, this is also the area of the largest tax savings. Proper planning can save seven figures in taxes.