We often call ours a “second bite of the apple” strategy. As a business owner, you get your first bite based on what you’ve done to date; then you re finance your second bite in the next three to five years. “It’s always my goal in these relationships,” says Clifford, “for the entrepreneur business owner to make more money selling the 20% or 30% they roll over in the transaction — three to five years after we get involved — than they make selling 60% to 70% in the transaction with us today.” There are literally thousands of businesses with this kind of potential in the USA.

“I’m always amazed,” Clifford says, “to sit with these fabulous entrepreneurs — who’ve spent 30 or 40 years building a unique niche business — and ask them the question, If you had a moment to dream about your business, what could we do to double, triple or quadruple it now? After a few moments of shock — then have to change gears, out of the day-to-day grind of operating their business — the entrepreneur often reveals to me absolutely stunning strategies for improving the profitability and reach of that niche businesses. They have the dreams, the strategies — they just haven’t taken the risk required to augment their management team and gamble their personal wealth on their strategies.” After processing through a number of these transactions personally, Clifford says with confidence: “If the relationship is correct from the beginning, the entrepreneur business owner is absolutely thrilled with like-minded partners coming alongside to help him take the business to the next level.”

SignificantPartners™ has resisted expansion in the number of its partners. Still, many of the transactions he has led have resulted in wealthy, high-quality families joining his partnerships. Why? Because it’s so much more fulfilling and rewarding than passive investing through a traditional fund opportunity. Many wealthy entrepreneurs who have “cashed out” love the thought of putting some money to work in a small- to medium-sized business where

they can serve in an advisory board role and share in some of the financial rewards. They also take tremendous personal satisfaction in helping an entrepreneur business leader take his or her business to the next level. SignificantPartners™ has referred many of these groups to a boutique private equity firm called HarrisPreston.com. HarrisPreston.com specializes as sort of an outsourced private equity division for wealthy family offices, many of whom are entrepreneurs who have recently sold their businesses.

Today, Americans face the largest transfer of wealth in American history. Economists believe that the wealth transfer from the 76 million baby boomers will be $40.6 trillion dollars in the next 25 years. Current estimated personal wealth was estimated to be $33 trillion at the turn of this century! “In this tremendous transfer of wealth that will take place in the next 20 years,” Dr. Clifford says, “I am seeing many entrepreneur business owners seeking an active, not passive, role in their investments, while enjoying becoming involved in other businesses.”