Quest

Our business valuation encompasses the explore, grow, change, and legacy services. This valuation gives business owners the chance to understand the value and the path ahead that will enable their business to grow accordingly.

Quest offers consulting services for mergers and acquisitions to both buyers and sellers of businesses. Our firm functions as an extension of the business owner's team and their financial advisors, serving as a project CFO. We assist in planning for mergers and acquisitions, identifying and reaching out to suitable targets, and negotiating merger and acquisition options with these targets. We also confirm financing, establish the optimal business and tax structure, oversee diligence, execute the closing, guide the transition integration, and verify the post-transition plan. When a client is acquiring multiple businesses, we repeat this merger and acquisition consulting process as needed to ensure a smooth and successful outcome.

Most individuals consider exit planning to be a plan for selling a business, but at Quest, we view it as planning for life by swapping your time for a different set of activities than your current responsibilities as a leader or owner in your existing business. Ideally, we help an owner exit on their own terms regarding timing, value, transition, and vision. We believe exit planning is an ongoing process to maintain maximum flexibility in achieving the desired outcome, which we refer to as maximizing their Quest outcome. Contact us to learn more about our exit planning advisory services.

Many individuals view succession planning as the process of replacing a retiring leader with a new person. At Quest, the approach involves understanding the current roles within the entire leadership team, the procedures of all critical business functions, and identifying areas that need improvement to increase the company's value. The focus of our succession planning is generally on the internal team and family members associated with the business, as well as exploring potential new positions that could be filled through recruitment.

The objective of business financial planning with Quest is to establish a strategic trajectory and develop financial models that facilitate forecasting, budgeting, and eventually comparing actual results to desired outcomes, highlighting gaps to attain the intended goals.

Quest assists its clients in navigating their business to increase wealth through creating business value, with a focus on enhancing their net worth, and ultimately achieving liquidation realization.

Quests estate planning services assist customers by simplifying complex financial information, allowing clients to consider the organization of their assets to optimize estate planning options. With regards to estate planning services, we consider the planning process as an ongoing continuous plan that evolves due to changes in family dynamics, economic shifts, legislative and tax law changes, and new opportunities that contribute to the family's assets. Once estate documents are signed, the assets require ongoing management, retitling, reporting, and consistent monitoring.

Many family-owned businesses do not refer to their advisors and internal support team as their family office and have not established their family office.
Our Quests Legacy package offers family office services designed to develop processes and enhance internal systems, allowing for the timely identification of the value of privately held family holdings. Our services comprise strategic decision-making, value creation, liquidity considerations, family planning, support for family meetings, estate and trust management, optimization, and income tax optimization, among others.

Quests customers comprise privately held businesses that often lack acting CFOs. Several of our clients hold multiple roles within their business, and the owner frequently acts as the CFO, even if they do not identify as one. Our team supports the strategy, planning, and capital needs of the business, and we often take on the role of temporary or fractional CFOs for these companies. Our role as temporary or fractional CFOs is most effective when the company has sufficient staff to consistently maintain their books and records, allowing us to focus on analysis and decision-making that supports the overall strategy of our customers.

Quest acts as a facilitator and project manager for clients through the Change package, which concentrates on substantial changes to a company's equity, including Employee Stock Ownership Plans (ESOPs). These services are provided to owners of lower middle market businesses and their respective companies.

Quest functions as an extended team for the business owner and their financial team, acting as a project CFO. This involves planning for management buyouts and internal transitions. We work with the management team to negotiate business sale options, confirm financing, and organize the ideal business and tax structure. We also manage diligence, execute the closing, navigate the transition integration, and confirm the post-transition plan.

Quest can assist clients in obtaining liquidity from their current business through minority equity and debt options that facilitate internal buyouts, family transitions, and dividend recapitalizations, thereby supporting clients' liquidity and diversification objectives. When a client's entire wealth is tied to their business and they wish to preserve the company culture while transitioning leadership from within the team or family, a recap can be an ideal solution that does not involve selling or relinquishing control of the business.