New Business Parable Exit by Design Helps Owners Prepare for Succession and Life Beyond the Business
An easy to read novel about the owner of a business seeking a path for himself, his family, and his employees after he
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An easy to read novel about the owner of a business seeking a path for himself, his family, and his employees after he encounters a disastrous episode at a national airport.
Lenexa, KS September 01, 2026 –(PR.com)– Dave Seitter and Kelli Watson combine the business and personal sides of ownership transition in a new book for founders preparing their companies and themselves for what comes next.
Exit by Design: A Parable About Succession, Legacy, and Life After the Business, by Dave Seitter and Kelli Watson, will launch in October 2026, offering business owners a story-driven approach to one of the most difficult questions a founder eventually faces:
What happens to what I built when I’m no longer the one running it?
The book follows Alex Romero, owner and CEO of Northstar Construction, a successful company he built over twenty-two years. Alex knows the clients, approves the major decisions, and carries much of the institutional knowledge that keeps the company moving.
When a health scare forces him to consider how dependent the company has become on his presence, Alex begins the process of preparing Northstar to function without him at the center of every decision.
His challenge extends beyond the company.
Alex must also determine what he wants his own life to look like once daily responsibility for the business changes.
That dual focus forms the foundation of Exit by Design. The book asks owners to work on two connected plans: one for the future of the company and one for the future of the owner.
Through Alex’s story, readers encounter issues common to privately held businesses, including founder dependence, leadership transfer, decision authority, continuity planning, ownership options, family conversations, and the emotional difficulty of letting go.
The book also introduces the concept of rewirement, a way of thinking about life after daily ownership that allows experienced founders to redirect their knowledge and relationships toward meaningful work on terms they choose.
As the authors write:
“The company you built deserves a designed future. So does the life you’ve been building alongside it.”
Rather than treating succession as a single transaction, Exit by Design presents it as a process that begins well before ownership changes hands. The story is accompanied by Coach’s Corner sections, reflection questions, and a practical framework readers can apply to their own businesses.
The book challenges owners to identify where critical decisions continue to end with their name, assess whether their leadership team has real authority, and consider whether the company could continue operating if they became unavailable.
One of the book’s central principles captures the issue directly:
“A business that depends on its strongest person has a single point of failure.”
About Dave Seitter
Dave Seitter is the owner of DS Strategies & Consulting, where he works with privately held business owners on continuity and ownership transitions. With more than 45 years of experience as an attorney and advisor, his background includes mergers and acquisitions, corporate law, construction, estate planning, and related business matters.
His work helps owners prepare leadership structures, clarify decision authority, and develop transition plans built around the long-term needs of the company and owner.
About Kelli Watson
Kelli O’Brien Watson is a Succession and Transition Coach who works with business owners on the personal side of leaving companies they have built. Her work addresses the shifts in purpose and identity that often accompany succession or sale.
Watson brings decades of experience as an entrepreneur, business owner, coach, and leader. She also serves as Director of Coaching for Todd Durkin Enterprises and is co-owner of Scriptor Publishing Group.
About Exit by Design
Exit by Design: A Parable About Succession, Legacy, and Life After the Business will launch in October 2026.
Paperback ISBN: 9798193657934
Hardcover ISBN: 9798193658115
Contact Information:
DS Strategies & Consulting, LLC
Dave Seitter
913-450-5885
Contact via Email
davidseitter.com
Read the full story here: https://www.pr.com/press-release/977983
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