The Exit Planning Institute® (EPI) Southeast Michigan Chapter will host its 4th annual Southeast Michigan Business Owner Forum on November 5 from 8:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. at Orchard Lake Country Club, located at 5000 W Shore Dr., West Bloomfield, MI 48324. The half-day event is designed specifically for business owners, focusing on how to grow a stronger, more valuable, and more transferable business.
The forum will feature panels with business owners, TED Talk-inspired sessions, and a fireside chat with an owner who recently exited their business. Attendees will hear firsthand from peers and industry experts about the challenges other owners have faced and the innovative solutions they found. This peer-to-peer learning format is intended to give owners practical insights they can apply to their own companies, whether they are years away from a transition or actively preparing for one.
For exit planning professionals—including financial advisors, business consultants, and others—the event offers a chance to network with fellow advisors and entrepreneurs on topics related to exit planning. That networking component matters because exit planning increasingly requires collaboration across disciplines such as financial planning, legal, tax, and business consulting. By bringing these professionals together with owners, the forum aims to strengthen the local ecosystem of advisors who support business transitions.
The event’s significance extends beyond a single morning of programming. For business owners, the forum underscores a central point: building a transferable business is not a last-minute task but a long-term strategy that can affect the company’s value, its attractiveness to buyers, and the owner’s ability to exit on their own terms. The fireside chat with a recently exited owner is particularly relevant, as it provides a real-world account of what the transition process looks like in practice, including the decisions and preparations that preceded the sale.
For the Southeast Michigan business community, the forum also signals the growing attention being paid to succession and exit readiness. Many privately held businesses face ownership transitions in the coming years, and events like this help normalize conversations about planning ahead. The involvement of EPI, which was formed in 2005 to serve professional business advisors’ educational and resource needs, adds a layer of credibility. Its Certified Exit Planning Advisor (CEPA®) credential program is described as the most widely endorsed professional exit planning program in the world, providing advisors with the content, tools, and training needed to engage business owners and become their most valued advisors.
Business owners and advisors interested in attending can learn more about EPI Southeast Michigan and the Business Owner Forum on the EPI site. With its mix of owner panels, expert sessions, and networking, the forum is positioned as a resource for those seeking to make their businesses more resilient and more valuable—whether the goal is eventual sale, family succession, or simply stronger day-to-day operations.
