Mathematics is not “mathing”.

Last year, the Exit Planning Institute (EPI) produced the State of Owner Readiness Report, the first national study in 10 years to measure owner willingness to go out their private businesses. It was an extensive survey, with over 1,200 business owners responding.

The good news? 95% of business owners agreed with this statement: Having a transition strategy is important to my future as well as the future of my business. This is especially good news when you consider that 57% of Baby Boomers and 38% of Generation X owners expect to exit their companies in the next few years.

However, it's not all IT, other business owners say.

Only 68% of us have sought outside advice about ours transition plans. Worse yet, only 14% have established a formal transition advisory team whose sole focus is preparing an owner for an exit. This means that while 19 out of 20 owners think it is important to strategically prepare for their business exit, only about 3 out of 20 owners are living it.

And that just doesn't add up.

Related: You need an advisory team more than ever. Here's why – and how to run one effectively

“But I have all these people!”

Good entrepreneurs and business owners are constantly seeking outside advice and help. So it can be easy to think that you do, in fact, have one external exit advisory team.

Here is the litmus test:

• Is your team working collectively on the business transition? If the team is closed – working only in its area of ​​expertise without knowing what other members do – or value – then they are not working collectively or collaboratively.
• Do you have all the people you need? Key members of your team should include an attorney, an accountant, a growth advisor/coach, and a financial planner. These people are factor “4” in the 4×3 pattern, which I will discuss in a moment.

Remember, get out transition planning it means building value for your business so that when the time comes to leave, you can do so on your own terms. Building value is a way of life, not something you do when an exit is imminent. So even if you're not among the many owners planning to leave in the coming years, your exit and transition planning should start now.

Related: I specialize in exit planning – You must make these 5 moves before selling your business

Multiply your value: 4×3 pattern

Once you have the key members of your external transition advisory team—an attorney, an accountant, a growth advisor/coach, and a financial planner—it's time for them to work on multiplying your value.

THESE ADVISORS you must work as a team to help you set goals and integrate strategies to achieve goals in three areas: business, personal, and financial. Think of these areas as the Three Legs of the Stool, as we call them at EPI. Because you can't sit on an uneven bench, each area should be given equal effort.

1. Business: Decentralizing the owner to make the business successful after exit by developing and evaluating four intangible capitals: human, customer, structural and social.
2. Personal: Identifying the next stage of the owner's life and how a transition helps them reach that stage. Today, new owners plan to own and exit multiple businesses throughout their lifetime.
3. Financial: Many owners have their wealth trapped inside their businesses. By building value—not just income—you can harvest that wealth to ensure you're financially successful upon exit.

Four counselors, each working on the same three legs of the bench. This is how you multiply your value.

Related: When should business owners start developing an exit plan? Here's what you need to know.

X Factor: Cannot multiply without it

While “x” can mean multiplication, it also refers to the X-factor for your entire core team—that is, the quality, or secret sauce, that makes the team work successfully toward your exit.

Getting a core consulting team to work together—not just in their functional area—is harder than it sounds. Everyone may have different ideas about what is most important when it comes to identifying your key strategies to achieve your business, personal and financial goals.

Each owner has an accountant and a lawyer. And, often, your personal financial planner is disconnected from your business. Too often, owners see a growth advisor/coach as merely functional – someone who comes in from time to time to offer advice. But these are key members of your team, and they all need to be on the same page and speaking the same language.

One of these key members must have a project manager role, and that person must have one Certified Exit Planning Advisor Credential (CEPA). (Even better if the entire core team is CEPA-certified!) By having a CEPA lead your external advisory team, you ensure that value acceleration—and, therefore, a successful exit on your terms—remains the primary goal of the team.

When you have all four advisors focused on accelerating value in the three main areas (4×3), then you have solved for X – the X factor, that is, the variable that will certainly have the most significant impact on your exit.