Succession Stories · 2026-07-12 · 45 min
Podcast Episode Description: "It's an exit plan, not an exit due." Host Laurie Barkman sits down with Alan Bennett, founder of Trust Built Solutions and exit planning coach who has lived through three very different business exits - a retail meat market that he closed in 2008, a contract catering business that a seller-financed deal and COVID unraveled in 2020, and a psychiatric practice exit to private equity where he finally got to use every lesson he had learned the hard way. Alan's story is one of the most honest and unfiltered accounts of what owner dependency really costs - not just in valuation, but in hours, health, relationships, and missed opportunities. He shares the trust cycle that unlocks delegation, the trap that keeps owners perpetually in the weeds, and why exit planning isn't about selling - it's about building a business that actually works without you. Key Insights You can build a $2 million business and still have nothing to sell. Alan's first business did over $2 million in combined retail and catering revenue - but without systems, processes, or a team that could run without him, he had no transferable asset when the time came.
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