Credit Suisse and the Columbia Business School have unveiled a new white paper report exploring how entrepreneurs can handle the sale of their business, a key process for wealth management firms as they look to exploit business from such events.

The report is called Life After an Exit: How Entrepreneurs Transition to the Next Stage; it was developed by the Swiss bank and the Eugene Lang Entrepreneurship Center at Columbia Business School.

Private banks regard business owners as important potential sources of client both before and after businesses are sold, explaining why, for example, firms such as JP Morgan and Coutts, the UK bank, have made an issue of cultivating family-owned firms.

The report provides entrepreneurs with perspective on two kinds of challenges after a sale: those they will face as they move on to the next phase of their lives, and those they will encounter as they learn to manage their new wealth. The report draws on interviews with 22 entrepreneurs who have sold businesses that resulted in at least $10 million in proceeds.

"Credit Suisse is pleased to offer research that explores some of the complex, non-financial issues that many entrepreneurs experience after the successful sale of their business, and that are often not considered or discussed," says Paul Simons, head of wealth management solutions at Credit Suisse Private Banking Americas.

Among its highlights are nine case studies that demonstrate conditions that business owners face when selling their companies, and carries a number of recommendations.