What We Believe
- The best strategy for business owners is exit planning. You don’t always get to pick your exit.
- Driving growth now increases value at exit AND allows for resources that create profit and higher quality of life for business owners
- Contingency planning isn’t just for the business owner. It is also for their employees, vendor partners and communities
- Everything in the business needs to be aligned with and in support of the exit plan to create exponential growth and new opportunities for everyone
- The most important factor in an exit plan for a successful business owner is their personal plan for life after their exit
Our Founder
Mike Garrison, when not fly fishing or dreaming about it, has worked for 25+ years with financial advisors and small business owners across the globe helping them to both grow their business and enjoy their lives. Mike also enjoys helping business owners preserve legacies through his work as a Value Advisor in the exit planning process as a holder of the CEPA designation. His work is informed by experience as a multiple franchise owner across the USA, having been founding partner of an international training franchise, owner of multiple types of business entities with different types of exit experiences.
Mike is the founder of Blue Ridge Trusted Advisors. At BRTA, Mike runs a national peer advisor council business as a Licensed Partner with LX Council in addition to his work consulting with business owners.
Mike is the author of “Can I Borrow Your Car? How Financial Advisors Can Grow Their Business and Love their Life”. He is also the co-author of the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Amazon.com and USA Today bestseller: Truth or Delusion: Busting Networking’s Biggest Myths. Mike is also a contributing author to the number one bestseller Masters of Success. Mike is honored to be the 2024 Exit Planning Institute Member of the Year and
a faculty member of the Exit Planning Institute Academy and to have been invited to speak at their annual Exit Planning Summit. He is always willing to go speak about referrals and exit planning.
Relationships are everything to Mike, both personally and professionally. He has spent the entirety of his career helping leaders and producers grow their businesses… and transform their lives and the lives of those that depend upon them. He believes, without any hesitation, that we are all designed to accomplish so much more than we realize and is committed to helping people that are dedicated to being intentional about their unique expression of what it means to be human.