Do you want one person accountable for your growth and your exit, rather than a course or a group?
Work one-to-one with a Certified Exit Factor Consultant who builds your plan, sits at the table with you, and, at our highest level, gets paid when we grow your profit and your value. Three levels of support, each matched to where you are and how hands-on you want us to be.
No two businesses need the same thing. Some owners want a seasoned business advisor to check in each quarter and keep them on track. Others want a hands-on partner every other week. And some want us fully embedded, on call, and paid for results. Whichever fits, the core is the same: a dedicated consultant who knows your business, works your plan with you, and is measured by whether your business becomes more profitable and more valuable. Every engagement starts with a free consultation.
Business Exits Behind the Model
Operational Value Drivers Scored
Industries Served
Local Office Markets
Most consultants and coaches bill you whether or not anything changes. Our highest level of consulting works differently. Exit Factor takes a small annual retainer to cover the work, then earns the rest only when we grow your profit and the value of your business. If we do not move the number, we do not earn the way we want to. It is the clearest way we know to prove we believe in the plan we build with you, and the same outcome focus runs through every level below it.
[small_text]The success-based structure applies to our Expert Partner level. Our other two levels are a flat annual fee that can be split into a payment plan. Your consultant confirms the structure that fits your business in the free consultation.[/small_text]
This is not a course and it is not a group program. One-to-one consulting means a single Certified Exit Factor Consultant is accountable for your business and your goals. Part business advisor, part executive coach, part operator who has helped hundreds of owners grow and sell, your consultant does the strategic thinking with you and then helps you execute it. Small business consulting done this way is built entirely around one company: yours.
We start from your numbers, your goals, and your timeline, then build a plan specific to your business. Nothing off the shelf, and nothing you have to translate from a generic framework.
Beyond the plan, your consultant is a sounding board for the hard calls: hiring, pricing, whether to take the offer. This is executive coaching for business owners who carry the weight of those decisions alone.
The point is not activity. Small business coaching at Exit Factor is measured against the plan, which means a more profitable, more valuable, and more transferable business, not just a full calendar.
Every level gives you a dedicated Certified Exit Factor Consultant and a plan built for your business. What changes is the cadence, how deep we go, and how we are paid. Most owners begin at the level that fits where they are today and move up as their goals and timeline sharpen.
Owners who are getting started and want an experienced business advisor keeping them on plan at a steady, lower-frequency cadence.
CADENCE
Monthly or quarterly strategy sessions, with your plan and priorities to work between them.
Owners in build mode who want a hands-on business growth consultant working with them twice a month.
CADENCE
Two working sessions a month, plus support between them.
Owners who want Exit Factor embedded and on call, with our pay tied to the results we produce.
CADENCE
On-demand access to your consultant, with a standing seat in the decisions that move your company’s value year-round.
Whatever level you choose, the work follows the Exit Factor methodology: the five phases of the VORTEx Model™. It is the same framework behind more than 2,000 business exits, applied one-to-one to your business.
Start with the outcome you want. Define your goal, your timeline, and the one or two results you most need, then set a baseline value, so progress is measurable.
Outcome
A written plan: your goal, your timeline, and a baseline value to grow from.
Get the financial house in order. Clean up the books, tighten margins, and build reporting a buyer or lender could trust.
Outcome
Clean, defensible financials and stronger margins.
Make the business run without you. Document how the work gets done and reduce the owner dependence that caps a company’s value.
Outcome
Documented systems and a business less dependent on the owner.
Show where the growth has been and where it can go. Use the growth work to lift profit now and build a credible story for the future.
Outcome
Higher profit today and a clear, documented growth story.
Build readiness and the team a transition requires, in the right order and sized to your business, so you have options on your own timeline.
Outcome
A more transferable business and a plan for when you choose to exit.
Talk through your business, your goals, and your timeline with an Exit Factor consultant. There is no cost and no pressure.
Outcome
A clear read on where you are and what to prioritize next.
For many owners this starts with a Business Value and Growth Plan: a clear picture of what the business is worth today and what would increase its value. It becomes the baseline for the engagement.
Outcome
A baseline value, a projected value, and the gaps to close.
Based on your goals, pace, and budget, we recommend Business Advice, Business Growth, or Expert Partner, and confirm how the engagement is structured.
Outcome
The right level and a clear plan, with the fee structure agreed up front.
Your consultant works the plan with you, level by level, focused on the factors that most affect your profit and your value.
Outcome
A more profitable, more valuable business, measured against the plan.
One-to-one consulting is the right fit for some owners and not for others. As you weigh it, ask yourself three questions:
Do you want one person accountable for your growth and your exit, rather than a course or a group?
Would an experienced advisor on the hard calls save you time and costly mistakes?
Do you want a partner whose pay can be tied directly to your results?
If you answered yes to even one, a dedicated Certified Exit Factor Consultant is worth a conversation. If you would rather learn at your own pace or grow alongside a group first, the Community and Peer Groups are lower-cost places to start, and we are happy to point you there.
Small business consulting is hands-on advisory work in which an experienced consultant helps an owner improve profitability, build value, and prepare the business for its next stage. Unlike a course or a group program, it is one-to-one and built around a single company’s numbers, goals, and timeline. Good consulting is measured by results, not activity: a more profitable, more valuable, more transferable business. A service like Exit Factor delivers this through a dedicated Certified Exit Factor Consultant working from a structured methodology, the VORTEx Model™.
A small business coach helps an owner set goals, stay accountable, and work through the decisions of running and growing a company. Coaching leans on questions, structure, and accountability, while consulting adds a specific plan and hands-on execution. Many owners want both in one relationship. An advisor like Exit Factor combines small business coaching with consulting, so the same person who coaches you through the hard calls also helps build and execute the plan behind them.
A business coach mostly helps you find your own answers through questions and accountability, while a business consultant brings expertise and a specific plan and often helps execute it. Coaching is about the owner; consulting is about the business, though the best engagements blend the two. Companies like Exit Factor pair coaching for the owner with consulting for the business, so the strategy and the person carrying it out are supported together.
A business advisor is an experienced outside partner who helps an owner make better decisions about growth, profitability, and eventually the exit. A good advisor brings pattern recognition from many businesses, flags risks the owner cannot see from inside, and keeps long-term value in view alongside day-to-day operations. An advisor like Exit Factor plays this role through a Certified Exit Factor Consultant, and offers it at several levels of intensity depending on how hands-on the owner wants the relationship to be.
A business growth consultant is a consultant focused specifically on increasing a company’s revenue, profit, and enterprise value, rather than on any single function like marketing or operations. The work centers on the drivers that most affect the value of the whole business. A business growth consultant like Exit Factor works these drivers through the VORTEx Model and ties the engagement to measurable gains in profit and value.
Executive coaching for business owners is one-to-one support for the person at the top, focused on leadership, decision-making, and the isolation of carrying a company alone. For owners, it usually needs to sit close to the business itself, since the hardest calls (hiring, pricing, whether to sell) are both personal and strategic. A service like Exit Factor builds executive coaching into its consulting, so the owner gets a sounding board and a plan from the same trusted advisor.
An exit planning advisor helps an owner prepare a business for a future sale or transition, usually years ahead, by growing its value and making it more transferable. The work includes building profit, reducing owner dependence, documenting systems, and assembling the right deal team. An exit planning advisor like Exit Factor guides this through the VORTEx Model, and at its highest level ties its own pay to the increase in the company’s value, so the incentive matches the owner’s.
A Certified Exit Factor Consultant is a business consultant trained and credentialed in the Exit Factor methodology, the VORTEx Model, and equipped with its tools for valuation, value growth, and exit preparation. Every Exit Factor engagement, at every level, is delivered by one. The credential is what makes Exit Factor a certified business consultant an owner can work with directly, backed by insights from more than 2,000 business exits.
It depends on how hands-on you want the relationship to be. Our first two levels, Business Advice and Business Growth, are a flat annual fee that can be split into a payment plan, priced to the cadence you choose. Our top level, Expert Partner, is structured differently: a small annual retainer plus a small share of the increase in your company’s value, so Exit Factor earns most of its fee only when it grows yours. Exit Factor’s services are designed to fit a small business owner’s budget, and the free consultation is where the right level and pricing are confirmed, so you know exactly what you are investing in before you commit.
Start with pace and goals. Owners early in the journey often begin with Business Advice and its monthly or quarterly cadence; owners actively building value tend to want the twice-monthly Business Growth level; owners who want a partner embedded and paid on results choose Expert Partner. Budget and timeline matter too, and many owners move up over time. A service like Exit Factor recommends a starting level in the free consultation, and owners can step up as their goals sharpen.
Exit Factor is owned by the same group that operates the largest business brokerage network in the world. Our methodology is built on insights from more than 2,000 business exits across 75+ industries, distilled into the VORTEx Model that helps owners build companies that are more profitable, more valuable, and designed to give them options on their own timeline. Every engagement is delivered by a Certified Exit Factor Consultant, and with locations across 150+ U.S. markets and three international markets, a consultant is almost always within driving distance.
Business exits behind the model
Industries served
U.S. markets
+ 3 international markets
Want the full methodology in book form? Read The Exit Factor by Jessica Fialkovich, Founder of Exit Factor →
Whether you want a quarterly advisor, a twice-monthly partner, or a consultant embedded and paid on results, it starts the same way: a free consultation. Bring your questions and a rough sense of your goals. We will help you find the right level and the right next step.