Lamb McErlane Partner Chad T. Williams was a guest on the Way2Wealth® podcast with Scott Ford, Managing Director, Partner, and Wealth Advisor for Carson Wealth, a leading financial advisory and wealth management firm.

Chad and Scott discuss what really drives founders to sell their businesses and how to prepare before the first serious offer comes in.  They dig into why the headline price can be misleading, how to protect your leverage, and what planning looks like after the wire hits.

Other key takeaways;

• reasons founders exit, from succession gaps to market pressure and burnout
• why taking chips off the table can restore confidence and reduce risk
• building a company to sell, and starting exit planning earlier than feels necessary
• the uneven playing field between experienced buyers and first-time sellers
• what a Letter of Intent (LOI) really signals, and why terms matter as much as price
• using inbound buyer calls to gather intelligence and build a future target list
• setting non-negotiables and defining a walkaway to avoid sunk cost mistakes
• post-sale planning, including tax and estate considerations plus personal purpose
• avoiding post-exit traps like investing outside your lane without a process

Listen to the podcast here.

About Chad Williams:
Chad is a Partner and Business Law attorney at Lamb McErlane PC, he concentrates his practice in business transactions and dispute resolution.

Chad brings experience as an investment banker, in-house corporate counsel and corporate private practice attorney to his work advising clients on corporate, commercial, and transactional matters. He serves as outside general counsel to many companies, providing advice and support throughout their growth, from formation and operational matters to merger and acquisition transactions. Chad has deep experience in mergers and acquisitions including both buy-side and sell-side representation, including private equity and strategic transactions. He also has significant experience advising senior management and boards of directors on matters relating to corporate governance, fiduciary duties, internal investigations and corporate financing transactions. In addition, Chad advises privately-held companies and family-owned businesses in connection with succession planning and business and partnership dispute resolution.

As a trusted advisor, Chad also advises his clients in connection with litigation matters in state and federal court in Pennsylvania and Delaware, and has been admitted pro hac vice in Wyoming. ctwilliams@lambmcerlane.com

About Scott Ford

Scott is Managing Director, Partner and Wealth Advisor for Carson Wealth, a leading financial advisory and wealth management firm with dozens of locations nationwide. Scott’s teams provide comprehensive wealth management using The Way2Wealth process to make money simple so that their clients can live fully now. As a born entrepreneur who believes that small business owners are the backbone of the economy, Scott feels a special call to work his magic with other entrepreneurs.