Jul 26, 2026
Podcast Episode Description
"A successful exit isn't about leaving your business. It's about
leaving the world a better place after you leave it." Host Laurie
Barkman welcomes back Scott Snider, President of the Exit Planning
Institute — the organization behind the Certified Exit Planning
Advisor designation and the Value Acceleration Methodology — for a
return conversation four years in the making.
Since their last episode in 2022, EPI has grown from 3,000 to
11,000 CEPAs, Scott has navigated his own leadership succession
from his father Chris, and the exit planning profession has
undergone one of its most significant evolutions yet.
Scott and Laurie unpack what has changed — and what hasn't — about
how business owners think about exit planning, why personal
planning remains the weakest leg of the stool, and why exit
strategy and business strategy are not two separate
conversations.
Key Insights:
- The leadership transformation nobody talks about is the internal one. Scott went from a militant, gritty leadership style — forged running a landscape construction company — to leading a 56-person team of highly educated, motivated professionals who needed to be led completely differently. His biggest surprise? Discovering he was capable of leading with empathy, grace, and love. The style that built his first business would have destroyed this one.
- Decades of success does not equal transferable
value. Business owners can have profitable products, great
people, loyal customers, and a lifestyle they love — and still have
nothing a buyer actually wants. Scott draws a sharp line between
income and value, between success and significance. The gap between
the two is exactly why exit planning exists — and exactly why
owners keep kicking the can.
- Baby Boomers, Gen Xers, and Millennials are asking
completely different exit questions. Baby Boomers — who
own 51% of privately held companies at an average age of 67 — are
navigating a 50-year identity crisis. Gen Xers want out early so
they can actually live, with 38% between 45 and 59 planning to exit
earlier than their predecessors. And Millennials have grown up
inside value acceleration thinking — they're already building to
sell.
- Personal planning is still the weakest leg of the stool
— and that needs to change. Despite all the evolution in
exit planning since 2005, personal planning remains the area most
business owners defer, dismiss, or avoid entirely. Scott's
challenge to the profession: stop treating it as the soft stuff.
Who am I with and without my business is the most important
question a founder can answer — and most never do.
- Exit strategy and business strategy are the same
conversation. Every decision a business owner makes today
is already affecting their future exit value. Scott reframes the
entire conversation: instead of positioning exit planning as
something you do when you're ready to leave, position it as what
makes your business stronger, more financeable, and more valuable
right now. The foot in the door is helping owners grow a better
company — the exit conversation follows naturally.
- The profession is growing — but awareness is still the biggest gap. With 11,000 CEPAs and a path to 20,000, EPI's CEPA credential could become the second largest professional credential in the country. But even at 20,000, it would still be a fraction of the 250,000 CFPs. The next five years are about activation — helping advisors start the conversation with owners earlier, and meeting owners where they are before a triggering event forces their hand.
Chapters:
00:04 Introduction and Four Years Later — What's Changed
01:56 Welcome Back: Scott Snider Returns to Succession Stories
02:57 What Scott Did When He Got the Baton at EPI
04:10 First Year Priorities: Structure, People, and Culture
05:58 The Challenge of Succeeding a Founder — Even a
Non-Traditional One
09:28 The Biggest Personal Surprise of Scott's Leadership
Journey
10:55 Head, Heart, and Wallet: The Balance of Leadership
12:16 How the Exit Planning Conversation Has Evolved Since 2022
14:34 Are Business Owners Asking Different Questions Today?
17:00 Gen X, Baby Boomers, and Millennials: Three Different Exit
Mindsets
19:18 The Biggest Misconception About Exit Planning That Still
Frustrates Scott
22:19 Personal Planning and the Card Sorting Exercise
25:13 Decades of Success But Zero Significance — Why Owners Kick
the Can
26:15 What Needs to Happen to Make Exit Planning Mainstream
29:50 How Advisors Should Start the Conversation With Business
Owners
30:32 Exit Strategy IS Business Strategy
32:42 Lightning Round: Books, Advice, and Finishing the
Sentence
34:13 What Scott Hopes His Dad Would Say About the Last Four
Years
🎙️ Missed Scott's first appearance?
Catch Episode 89 with Scott Snyder — the conversation that started
it all. Watch here:
https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/make-your-business-independent-of-you-scott-snider/id1507050698?i=1000558509078
Is your business truly
ready—and are you?
Take the Succession Readiness Assessment to
get a clear snapshot of where you stand and what to focus on
next.
https://btsherpa.com/
P.S. Most owners don’t realize where they stand until they’re already in a transition. Take a few minutes now to understand your readiness—and give yourself more options later.
Connect with Scott Snider / EPI:
Website: https://drivevalue.com/
Website://earncepa.com
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/scott-snider-epi