★★★★★
"Helped us think through a really tricky multi-state and complex financial situation with compassion and pragmatism! Highly recommended!"
4.9 · 250+ Reviews · Business Exit Mediation · MN & Remote
You're exiting your Minnesota business.
The financial plan is only half of it.
Your financial planner can tell you what to do with the proceeds. They can model out the tax hit and build the portfolio. What they can't do is help you and your business partner actually agree on terms. That's where mediation comes in — before the lawyers and before the deal blows up. I work with owners across the Twin Cities, and on video anywhere.
No commitment. 15 minutes. Free.
A business exit is rarely just a transaction. It's a reckoning — about who did what, what it was worth, and whether the person on the other side of the table is being straight with you. The financial plan only works if the people can agree first.
— Ryan McLaughlin, Flannel People Mediation
An exit has two sides. Most people only plan for one.
The financial side has professionals. The people side often doesn't.
The money side
What your financial planner handles
The transaction proceeds, investment strategy, tax planning, retirement income modeling — the numbers after the deal closes.
- Proceeds allocation and wealth management
- Tax-efficient exit strategies (QSBS, installment sales)
- Retirement income planning post-exit
- Portfolio construction with new liquidity
- Estate planning and legacy structuring
The people side
What a mediator handles
The conversations that have to happen before the deal — between partners, between a founder and their family, between parties who don't agree on what the business is worth to each of them.
- Partner buyout terms — price, timeline, conditions
- Who gets what when equity wasn't clearly documented
- Family business succession disputes
- How the departure gets communicated to employees
- Non-compete terms both parties can actually accept
This is for you if any of these are true
Six versions of the same problem — the deal is ready before the people are.
You're buying out a partner
You've agreed in principle that one of you is leaving. But you can't agree on what "fair" means for the buyout — price, terms, timeline, or whether past contributions change the number.
You're selling the whole business
Multiple partners, multiple opinions about the deal. One person thinks the offer is low. Another wants out at any price. The financial advisor is ready to work — but first you need the partners to agree.
It's a family business
Succession is complicated when family is involved. Who takes over, who gets bought out, how you value contributions that were never formally compensated — these conversations don't happen cleanly at the dinner table.
The operating agreement is silent
You didn't anticipate this scenario when you wrote it — or you never wrote one. So there's no established mechanism for how this gets decided. That's where mediation creates a framework.
One partner wants out immediately
There's urgency on one side and reluctance on the other. The business is still operating. The deal has to close but the relationship is strained. You need a process that moves.
Referred by your financial planner
Your CFP or wealth manager said "get the people side sorted first." They're right. Once the interpersonal terms are settled, the financial planning work can actually proceed without getting pulled back into the relationship dispute.
Tell me where things stand. I'll tell you if mediation is the right next step.
The professionals who handle an exit well work as an ecosystem
Each does a specific job. None of them does all of it.
The exit team
Your CFP plans the wealth. Your attorney documents the deal. Your mediator gets the people to the table.
These aren't competing services. A well-structured exit has all three. The order matters: mediation often happens before the attorneys engage on deal terms, because a mediated agreement gives both lawyers something to formalize instead of something to fight about.
Certified Financial Planner
Proceeds, tax, retirement income, portfolio
Business Attorney
Purchase agreement, LLC dissolution, IP transfer
Mediator
Buyout terms, partner alignment, interpersonal agreements
CPA / Tax Advisor
Business valuation, tax structure of the transaction
What the mediator actually does in a business exit
Not therapy. Not legal advice. Something more specific.
The hardest conversation in a business exit isn't about price. It's about what the price represents — who worked harder, whose contribution was undervalued, what one partner feels they're owed that isn't in any document. That's the conversation that stalls deals, that turns reasonable people into adversaries, that sends both parties to separate lawyers who entrench them further.
A mediator doesn't take sides. The job is to structure the conversation so both parties can say what they actually need — not their opening negotiating position, but the real thing underneath it — and then find whether there's an agreement available that both people can accept.
In an exit context, that usually means: agreeing on a buyout price and structure, determining how unvested equity or profit interest is handled, addressing any non-compete concerns, and deciding how the business transition gets communicated to employees, customers, and vendors. The mediator doesn't draft the agreement — that's your attorney's job. The mediator gets both parties to the point where an agreement is possible.
That step — getting both parties to the same page before attorneys are engaged — typically shortens the legal process significantly and substantially reduces cost. A negotiated agreement through separate attorneys can run $5,000–$30,000. Mediation, all-in, is a fraction of that.
What the process looks like
Clear steps. No ambiguity about what you're walking into.
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Free 15-minute call — just you
You tell me where things stand: what the exit looks like, who the other parties are, what's agreed and what isn't. I tell you whether mediation makes sense and what the process would look like. This is not a sales pitch — it's a real conversation about whether this is the right tool for your situation.
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Individual call with each party
Before anyone is in the same room, I talk to each party separately. I find out what they actually need — not their stated position, but the interest underneath it. Where is there real flexibility? What does a good outcome look like for them? This is where the shape of a possible agreement starts to emerge.
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Joint session — structured conversation
Both parties together, with me in the room. We work through the terms that need to be resolved: buyout price and structure, equity treatment, any ongoing role, non-compete parameters, and how the transition is handled. Nothing gets finalized until both parties can live with it.
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Written summary of agreed terms
You leave with the agreed terms in writing — clear enough that your attorney can formalize them without re-litigating what was decided. This document goes to your financial planner and your lawyers as a clean starting point. That step is shorter when there's nothing left to argue about.
4.9 stars across 250+ Google reviews.
Here's what the experience is like.
★★★★★
"He is incredibly patient, a great listener, and has a unique ability to help all parties see the bigger picture. Ryan remained neutral and focused on finding a fair resolution, which made the entire process smoother and less stressful."
★★★★★
"The mediation process was simple and easy and seemed like a good alternative to other routes. Ryan helped us reach an amicable agreement in the time frame we chose. I highly recommend Ryan at The Flannel People."
Ryan McLaughlin
Mediator · Flannel People Mediation · St. Paul, MN
I'm not a financial advisor and I'm not a lawyer. I'm a mediator, which is a specific job. My role in a business exit is to get all the relevant parties into a structured conversation and help them reach agreement on the interpersonal and equity terms — the stuff that has to be resolved before the financial plan and the legal documents can do their job.
I understand business structures: vesting, operating agreements, the difference between a buyout dispute and a communication problem, why sweat equity looks different to the person who put it in versus the person who put in the capital. I don't tell you what the terms should be. I help you get to terms both parties can actually accept.
4.9 stars across 250+ Google reviews. The free call is 15 minutes.
Common questions
Mediation typically happens before or alongside the legal and financial work, not after. Your CFP can build the wealth plan once they know what the exit looks like — but they can't determine that until the parties agree on terms. Mediation produces a written summary of agreed terms that your attorney formalizes and your financial planner uses as the starting point for the wealth transition plan. It's not competing with their work; it's what makes their work possible.
Valuation is often a proxy for something else — one person feeling their contribution was undervalued, or a disagreement about the business's future potential versus its current reality. I can't tell you what the business is worth; that's a job for a CPA or 409A appraiser. But I can help you work through the conversation underneath the valuation dispute — what each party actually needs from the outcome — which often makes the number more negotiable than it seems. Sometimes the fight about price resolves once the non-monetary things get acknowledged.
Mediation can happen while attorneys are involved — it's not an either/or. What changes is efficiency: if the mediation produces agreed terms, the attorneys have something to work from rather than something to argue about. Many attorneys actively encourage clients to try mediation before litigation because a mediated agreement is faster and less expensive for everyone. Some attorneys attend the mediation themselves. That's fine — they can be there in an advisory capacity.
Yes. Nothing said in mediation can be used in any subsequent legal proceeding. The process doesn't create a public record. What happens in the session stays there — what you leave with is the written terms both parties agreed to, not a record of what was said to get there. For a business exit, that matters: your employees, customers, and competitors don't learn the details of how the departure was negotiated.
Business exit mediation typically runs $3,000–$10,000 total — not per party, total — depending on complexity and number of sessions. That covers individual calls with each party, the joint session, and the written summary of agreed terms. For context: negotiating a partner buyout through separate attorneys typically costs $5,000–$30,000. The free call takes 15 minutes; I'll give you a specific number based on what you describe.
Ready? Pick a time below.
Free 15-minute call. No commitment.
The financial plan can't close until the people agree.
One conversation, 15 minutes, no commitment. You'll know whether mediation makes sense for your situation before the call ends.
You're on the calendar.
Check your email for the confirmation. Here's what to think about before we talk:
- Who are all the parties involved — partners, family members, anyone with an equity stake
- What documents exist: operating agreement, shareholder agreement, any equity grant letters
- What's already agreed, and where the sticking point actually is
- What a good outcome looks like for you — not your position, but what you actually need
Questions before the call? 763-316-8323