Most Owner Agreements Are Doomed to Fail Before a Lawyer Ever Gets Involved
The threats to business value are not random. A conflict between owners over direction or compensation. The death or disability of a co-owner whose estate now holds an interest you have to deal with. A sale that falls apart because the owners can’t agree on price. These are foreseeable. They are preventable. An owner agreement, done right, plans against all of them.
The Owner Agreement Project
A guided process for business co-owners who want to protect the value they’ve built.
To implement an owner agreement that holds, owners must first do three things a lawyer cannot do for them: articulate their values with respect to the business, install a decision-making process, and document their decisions in a succession plan. Only then does the legal drafting become straightforward.
The Owner Agreement Project guides owners through that process, start to finish.
How It Works
Foundation, $1,000
Educational resources on the owner agreement process, plus 15-minute telephone consultations as needed. The starting point for owners who want to understand what’s involved before committing to the full process.
Plan, $4,000
Everything in Foundation, plus completion of a written succession plan within six weeks. The plan documents the decisions that become the basis for the owner agreement. Telephone consultations as needed.
Agreement, $6,000
Everything in Plan, plus engagement of legal counsel and a business appraiser to draft and execute the owner agreement. Telephone consultations as needed. Professional fees (legal and appraisal) are outside costs not included in the project fee. Time of completion is three months.
Listed fees are a starting point. The scope and cost of each engagement will be adjusted based on the needs and circumstances of the business owners.
Why a Consultant, Not a Lawyer
A lawyer represents one owner. That creates confidentiality duties and conflicts when multiple owners are at the table. I work at the business level. I work with all owners transparently. I facilitate the decisions that make the legal document possible.
I’m Rick Riebesell. I’ve spent decades helping business owners navigate transitions, buying, selling, restructuring, and succession. I’m a lawyer, but work as a consultant who gets all owners ready to execute.