Geoff Eliason: How Smart Exit Planning Frees Your Business—and Your Life

“If your business only runs because of you, a buyer is buying your job—not your asset.”
What if the biggest risk in selling your business isn’t the deal—it’s the unknown afterward? In this episode of Doing Business with a Servant’s Heart, host Steve Ramona sits down with Jeff Eliason, a seasoned exit‑strategy expert, who reveals how business owners can protect their legacy, their family, and their identity when the time comes to hand over the reins.
Jeff begins as a trusted advisor working with founders whose companies are thriving, yet whose personal lives are on pause. He remembers one dinner with a founder’s spouse who quietly said, “We don’t even know who he is outside the office anymore.” That moment crystalised the relational cost of a business built around one person’s presence.
In this conversation you’ll feel the weight of that truth in the cadence of Jeff’s voice—his empathy for the founder who wakes up in his sixties asking “Who am I now?”—and you’ll hear the crisp clarity of his framework for stepping into the next chapter with intention. This isn’t just transaction talk—it’s transformation talk.
Throughout the discussion you’ll learn practical tools: how to build a business that isn’t dependent on you, how to involve loved ones in your “after” story, and how to think of your second bite of opportunity—not as the end of your career—but as the start of a new one.
If you’re a business owner who one day wants to sell—or simply wants to build a business that serves you instead of defines you—this episode will equip you to write your story rather than have your story forced upon you.
P.S. Even a small act of courage—starting the conversation about “what’s after”—can free you from postponement. Take that first step today.

Guest Bio
Jeff Eliason is a human‑first strategist who guides business owners through the toughest transitions: selling the company they built, and stepping into the life they longed to live. He discovered early on that high performance deals often leave families behind, identities un‑reclaimed, and legacies unlived. With more than two decades advising successful founders, Jeff now helps them build exit‑ready companies, family‑safe strategies, and second chapters that matter. When he’s not on the phone deep in deal‑structure mode, you’ll find Jeff with his wife Lisa, daughter Emma and son Logan in Kona, Hawaii—reminding himself what “life after business” is really about.
sdrventures.com

Shout out to my Sponsor A mind for All Seasons

Your brain is your greatest competitive edge—and it deserves to perform like one.

Want to think faster, remember more, and stay focused longer?

Just text the word "optimize" to 72000 and get instant access to 6 short, powerful videos—each just 3 to 5 minutes—that reveal simple strategies to unlock peak mental performance.

Because when your brain is clear, your business grows.

Big thanks to my other sponsor, EPIC Impact™ — the storytelling system that helps your message connect and convert.

It’s just four steps: Engage. Persuade. Inspire. Close with clarity.
I use it every day for all my messages!

Try it free at epicimpact.ai with code STEVE.
Change your message, change your results.

Doing Business with a Servant's Heart Named Top 20 Small Business Marketing Podcast
https://podcast.feedspot.com/small_business_marketing_podcasts/

Subscribe to our NEWSLETTER: https://doing-business-with-a-servants-heart.kit.com/628f9d5962

Order our SERVING JOURNAL: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CSNSY1M1