The Next Exit Wave That's Too Valuable to Ignore

Advisors have obsessed over helping Boomers retire and are now rushing to decode the Millennial mindset. Yet the better opportunity sits in the middle: Gen X. Now in their 40s and 50s, Gen X owners have built substantial businesses, accumulated wealth, and are quietly approaching the stage where exit planning becomes urgent.

Drawing on more than 80,000 completed Value Builder Score Reports, our latest analysis shows that, while Gen Z and Millennial owners are more likely to be running businesses with less than $1 million in revenue, Gen Xers are operating at a different level. 40% of Gen X owners run businesses in the $1–$10 million range, and they’re almost twice as likely as Gen Z founders to be running companies worth over $10 million.

Gen X owners are entering their prime exit years with larger, more complex companies than the generations behind them. Shaped by the dot-com crash, 9/11, the Great Recession, and COVID, they’re pragmatic, wary of spin, and focused on protecting what they’ve built rather than chasing hype. The fastest way to earn their trust is to show a grounded track record and frame the conversation around securing the value already on the table.

Curious how your business owner clients score on the value of their business? We can help. Book a quick chat.

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🎥 Watch the replay — but only for a limited time. Join John Warrillow, author of the bestselling books Built to Sell, The Automatic Customer, and The Art of Selling Your Business, as he unpacks why Gen X is known as the “skeptical generation,” why they’re planning earlier exits, and what advisors can do to earn their trust. Watch Now

💡 See how top advisors use Value Builder to spark smarter conversations with business owners. Download our free quick-read brochure to learn how.

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Advisor News is brought to you by The Value Builder System^TM, a value assessment platform that helps advisors start strategic conversations with business owners.

This Issue’s Contributors: Jason Reilly, Editor; Michael Sarkis, Director of Value Builder Analytics; Deanne Kong Ting, Director of Customer Success; Jen Chou, Senior Graphic Designer