What Results Can You Expect?
I build business value.
With less than 20% business owners ever getting a meaningful payday, there's a lot to fix...
Freedom, optionality, and value creation in your service business is worth a conversation.
Exit From the Partnership
He wasn't trying to sell a business. He was trying to figure out how two partners could go their separate ways fairly.
Situation:
Partnership needed to dissolve. Valuation was required. Both sides had different interests.
Action:
Helped establish a defensible valuation, think through the options, and negotiate the deal rather than allowing emotion or an arbitrary number to drive the outcome.
Outcome:
What could have been a disaster was sorted out with an agreement that led to an amicable end to the parternship.
One party pursued a new opportunity while the other continued the business.
Lesson:
Exitability isn't always about selling the company. Sometimes the most important exit is an owner's exit from a partnership.
The Best Acquisition Was the One He Didn't Make
He was considering buying a competitor. On paper, the acquisition looked like a way to grow quickly. But once we examined the economics and risks, the deal looked very different.
Situation:
Competitor available. Growth opportunity. Pressure from the selling broker to pursue. Temptation to buy.
Action:
Analyzed price, risk, integration, economics, and downside. Recommended that he not proceed.
Outcome:
He walked away from an acquisition that would have exposed him to more risk than the opportunity justified.
Lesson:
Good advisory isn't about helping an owner do more deals. Sometimes it's helping them recognize a bad deal before they own it.
Demonstrating independent judgement and patience is sometimes the better choice.
From Owner-Dependent to Competitor Merge Value Creation
He was referred to me to helkp him think about valuation and options available for eventual exit.
Situation:
He had a business where the economics and operations were heavily tied to him. He was considering acquisitions as a growth strategy, including buying competitors.
Action:
The strategy wasn't to “buy more companies.” The goal was to use acquisitions to build a larger, more professionally structured business, shift the economics from owner-dependent SDE toward EBITDA, and ultimately create a structure where his younger merged competitor could operate as GM while the retiring owner stepped back.
Outcome:
The business value has increased significantly due to newly acquired size plus professionally managed entity opening increased buyer desirability. The business continues to grow after the owner has lessened day-today involvement.
Lesson:
Growth isn't automatically value creation. The right acquisition can change the structure of a business, not just its revenue.
Trust Can Survive a Lost Deal
This is a valuable story because nothing went according to plan.
Situation:
She had previously considered selling her business with me but ultimately walked away from the deal.
Action:
Leaving on good professional terms can come back in positive ways maintaining trust and judgment.
Outcome:
Her other transaction path didn't work out, and she eventually came back for advice.
Lesson:
Good advisory relationships aren't built by winning every transaction. They're built by giving people advice they can trust, even when the advice doesn't immediately benefit.
The Business Changed When My Role Changed
I used to be involved in almost everything. Quoting. Operations. Customer communication. Problem solving. Buying supplies. Putting out fires.
The business couldn't really function without me because I had built it that way.
So I stopped asking, “How can I do this better?” and started asking, “How can this work without me?”
Before:
Owner in the middle of everything
Change:
Systems, delegation, processes, transferable knowledge
After:
Business operates without daily owner involvement
Lesson:
The most valuable role an owner can have is stayin above the business in value creation mode. After building yourself out of operational jobs should be your only job until you're off the org chart.
Are You Building A Business Or Running One?
I build business value.
And with less than 20% business owners ever get a meaningful payday, there's a lot to fix...
For service business owners who want freedom, optionality, and maximum exit value.
We'll solve your major constraints in priority of the biggest wins, with the least risk, in the shortest time.
Make your business a valuable asset you own, not a job that owns you and your time
Identify and solve your biggest bottlenecks
Increase your exit value above your industry norm
Build desire into your business to attract your ideal successor
Create multiple change / exit options, giving you leverage
