David Grau Sr.

And I like being a mentor to the next generation.

So I'll just keep doing it.

Terrific.

But at some point, you are going to have to retire and hang it up.

What happens then?

And most people say, well, I hadn't really thought about that.

And so what building with the end in mind is all about is let's bring in the next generation of talent around you.

Help advance them.

It might be your son or your daughter, but it's usually a son and a daughter and half a dozen key employees.

And let's give those folks the opportunity, if they want it and if they're good enough, to make an investment in the business, to buy into ownership, 5%, 10%.

They go get a bank loan.

Let's take this business and create an internal succession plan.

And let's give the business the opportunity to continue on 30, 40 years in the future after you decide to hang it up.

Now, that's a business that I, as a 30-year-old, would want to come to work for.

Not only has it got a plan for longevity, but I have an opportunity to grow with it and become an equity owner in it.

And my argument is, compare the math to a full sale, I'm done, to I'm going to throttle back on the job, learn to delegate, and surround myself with people who are better than me as my business grows at 20, 25% a year, every year for the next 10 years, according to a professional marketing and sales plan.

The money internally, by building it and staying, far exceeds that lump sum check.

And what you do is you get paid over the course of the last 10, 15, 20 years of your career, wages plus profits plus equity income when you sell your stock plus stock appreciation.

Add all that up over the course of a decade or more, it's the right answer.

I mean, the problem with an exit is all of a sudden you've got nothing to do.