As a young lawyer, Rick saw the dysfunction and unhappiness of business owners associated with business failure. The depression of losing and failure can be overcome with the ability to persevere and continue to be productive. Those who have succeeded often have difficulty maintaining success. Those who have not succeeded are frustrated by their lack of success. The answer is to be able to keep trying and derive satisfaction from the effort to be productive. Those who prevail focus on staying productive and making good decisions. That insight became the basis for Rick’s business consulting practice: to enable business owners and managers to make consistently good decisions in times of transition and realize success.
As Principal Consultant of Business Transition Consulting, Rick specializes in finding solutions for the problems of owners of closely-held (owner-managed) businesses, Rick Riebesell works with business owners to focus on planning that creates wealth from ownership of a business interest.
For the business owner who wants to sell the business as soon as possible for maximum value. A full explanation of the Prior Diligence strategy is described
in a series of posts on his Substack called Owning a Business at (rickriebesell.substack.com).
Rick has had a wide and varied business experience, including being a business owner, managing a retail store, and selling cars. Maintaining a technical interest over his business career, he holds several Sophos cybersecurity certifications. He is a lawyer who practiced litigation and business law for over thirty years and is experienced in business transactions of all types. He has a special interest in the problems of family-owned enterprises. He understands sophisticated estate planning. He is experienced in transactions involving the sale and acquisition of businesses and has helped clients plan and accomplish mergers, tax-free reorganizations, and acquisitions.
Rick assists clients in searching for appropriate businesses, accomplishes investigations of businesses, and implements acquisitions of businesses. Rick has extensive experience with nonprofit organizations and charitable giving.
Rick’s latest book is Implementing the Buy-Sell Agreement. This book is formatted to be quick and easy to read. It is a parsed treatment of a complex and difficult subject. It is designed to allow the reader, wanting to preserve the value of a business interest, to increase it, and pass the value to heirs, to understand how to make a good beginning of the process.
Rick’s earlier book, Now What?, deals with the situation of the owner of a profitable business who wishes to build wealth by deriving maximum value from the business.
Rick’s book written as a guide for advisors is Business Succession Planning – Forms and Practice Manual, published by Data Trace Publishing Company.