Life After Business

[THEME 9] Ep. #1 It's super easy to get on the same page with your partner(s) and leadership team, right!? I don't think anyone argues how important it is to get ownership and leadership alignment. This topic is discussed a ton in entrepreneurial circles. EOS© / Traction even has their "same page meeting" baked into the system. However, if it is so important, and there are systems devoted to helping people achieve this alignment, why is it SO difficult to actually accomplish? In this mini-series, I propose that one of the biggest reasons there is still so much conflict between partners, ownership groups, and leadership is a lack of clarity on the long-term equity valuation goal, the desired cash flow owners want along the way, and how to handle leadership roles and responsibilities. Kicking off the mini-series today is Dan Grimsrud, a seasoned M&A Attorney with a background in accounting and finance. Dan does dozens of M&A transactions a year - and sees behind the curtain of all the conflict that we all know exists - and is willing to share what he sees works and doesn't work. In our conversation, we cover the importance of operating agreements in creating ownership alignment and providing a roadmap for a company's governance, economics, exit strategies, and crisis response plans. //WATCH THE INTERVIEW ON YOUTUBE: Intentional Growth™ Podcast What You Will Learn Operating agreements are crucial for establishing ownership alignment between parties and provide a roadmap for governance, economics, exit strategies, and crisis response plans. The four key elements to address in an operating agreement are governance, economics, exit, and crisis response plan. Involving tax advisors is essential to ensure proper handling of tax implications and make the agreement fair and legally sound. Focus on the core elements of an operating agreement and have open conversations about priorities and concerns. Regularly revisit and update operating agreements to ensure they remain relevant and useful. Clearly define expectations, roles, and compensation structures in business partnerships, especially when one partner contributes capital and the other contributes expertise or labor. Have separate agreements for ownership and management roles in a partnership. Consider different tranches of compensation to balance the needs of both partners as the business evolves. Establish voting rights, employment agreements, and bonus structures to create alignment between owners and key executives. Different businesses require different approaches for buyouts and valuations, depending on their stage in the life cycle. Plan for various exit scenarios, including external sales, the death of an owner, and voluntary departures. Set parameters for determining valuation and be prepared to revisit and revise agreements as needed. Insurance, specifically life insurance, can provide a funding mechanism for buyouts in the event of an owner's death. Hire an attorney who listens to your concerns, asks the right questions, and helps you think through potential scenarios. Regularly review and update operating agreements to ensure they remain relevant and effective. // USE YOUR FINANCIALS TO CLARIFY A PATH TOWARDS A MORE VALUABLE BUSINESS: Int

Have you ever wondered how a business model impacts the scalability and valuation of a company? Throughout my personal entrepreneurial journey, I have run businesses in distribution, traditional professional services, technology-enabled services, and software. Each business model requires different operational models that impact every aspect of the business. How does a business model impact scalability and valuation? Today, I interviewed Linda Rose, an entrepreneur who had three businesses, each with a different business model. Linda tells us her story of starting, growing, and selling each business and how they were each different. The revenue per employee in one of her businesses was over double that of the other successful business, and it achieved a massive valuation at the exit. Linda is currently an M&A advisor in the technology sector and the author of Exit Your Company. She is going to walk us through how she grew and sold her companies and how she shifted her mindset to view the company through the eyes of a buyer. Linda shares the importance of focusing on the right aspects of business, sustainable cash flow, realistic projections, and valuing businesses. Linda also shares her transformative experiences from a challenging hike that led to personal and professional growth and her current work as an M&A advisor and author. Enjoy! // WATCH THE INTERVIEW ON YOUTUBE: Intentional Growth™ Podcast What You Will Learn Linda's career journey included public accounting, technology, and starting three businesses. After facing challenges during the 2008-2009 recession, Linda focused on her hosting company and the importance of building recurring revenue streams. A backpacking trip inspired Linda to write a book and become a sell-side M&A advisor. Concentrating on recurring revenue streams and efficiency can lead to greater financial rewards. Sustainable, predictable cash flow is critical for a business's value. Entrepreneurs should think as buyers, focusing on the sustainability and future growth of their company. CPAs tend to focus on past numbers rather than forward thinking; entrepreneurs should seek forward-thinking strategies and plans. Linda sold her three businesses with varying valuations and deal structures, emphasizing the importance of having multiple offers to compare. When selling a business, consider priorities such as company culture and employee well-being. Building rela

How do you find purpose and ignite your curiosity after your financial needs are met? On today's show, I welcome Matt Paulson, founder of MarketBeat, small business investor, and passionate philanthropist in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. You might be wondering, "How can he be active in so many areas?" I am thrilled to share this interview with you because Matt has an inspiring message about fulfilling your purpose beyond your core business. He firmly believes in doing things for the right reasons and making a positive impact on the community around you. In this engaging conversation, Matt discusses how he continues to immerse himself in the game of business out of pure interest, even though MarketBeat has already satisfied his financial needs. He shares his journey into real estate, his outlook on the future of the market, and why he is so committed to supporting the small business startup industry. Matt also reveals his ambitious plans for the future of Sioux Falls, including an exciting aquarium project. Many business owners struggle to separate themselves from their core business because it's their pride and joy. But what if that core business is all you know? What if there's a whole world of opportunities outside of your business where you can leverage your skillset and elevate your purpose to new heights? Tune in to Episode #348 and discover how Matt Paulson has found the perfect balance between having fun, creating wealth, and making an impact while enjoying the journey. Don't miss out on this captivating conversation that could change the way you view your own purpose and potential! // WATCH THE INTERVIEW ON YOUTUBE: Intentional Growth™ Podcast What You Will Learn Matt's secret to building an online community without algorithm dependence. The art of separating oneself from the business: Matt's perspective. Matt's rationale for pursuing passion projects beyond MarketBeat. The hidden rewards of venturing outside your core business. The driving force behind Matt's "it's worth it" mentality. Staying grounded as an entrepreneur: Matt's non-business activities for balance. Forecasting the future: Matt's investment predictions based on economic trends. // USE YOUR FINANCIALS TO CLARIFY A PATH TOWARDS A MORE VALUABLE BUSINESS: Intentional Growth Financial Assessment Bio: Matt Paulson is the founder of MarketBeat, an active angel investor, and a champion for startup businesses. As CEO of MarketBeat, Matt makes sure the train runs on time. He leads the team, monitors major initiatives, and is responsible for the company’s overall growth and progress. He takes pride in having built a unique company culture that allows th

Pricing on your mind? It sure seems like it's all anyone can talk about, from the local server to the CEO. Everyone is trying to figure out how inflation, supply chain issues, labor increases, and interest rates impact pricing today and where things are going to be in the future so they can plan their next move. Today I dive deep into the world of pricing strategies, value-based pricing, and price optimization with my guest, Casey Brown. Casey is the founder of Boost Pricing and has been a pricing geek for decades. Her past experience in engineering, Six Sigma, and working on pricing strategy for multiple Fortune 500 companies prior to Boost Pricing has equipped her with unique insights into pricing and its impact on businesses. Casey and I covered a ton of ground–we explored the importance of confidence, transparency, and strategic decision-making in pricing, price optimization, and dynamic pricing. This conversation will leave you with some very important concepts that can help you not only navigate the next few years, but allow you to pull ahead of your industry. What I love about this interview is that we explore the super interesting intersection of art and science, people and process, and data and psychology in the realm of pricing and price psychology. I learned A TON and I am sure you will too. // WATCH THE INTERVIEW ON YOUTUBE: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL5-NSSElJYC8ZSLljxhixU8NFNjFglugR What You Will Learn Avoid underpricing and use promotional pricing cautiously to protect your brand's perceived value. Focus on delivering value and transparency to build trust with customers. Exercise pricing power before selling a business to maximize its value. Utilize data in a strategic and thoughtful way to inform pricing decisions and better understand your market. Address the mindset, emotions, and self-limiting beliefs of sellers to directly impact profit margins. Recognize the importance of investing in improvements and asking for more to avoid getting trapped in a downward spiral by focusing on the top line. Develop a clear understanding of your costs, market trends, and competitors to better position your products or services in the market. Overcome fear by using exposure therapy and analyzing specific outcomes and risks associated with raising prices or losing volume. // USE YOUR FINANCIALS TO CLARIFY A PATH TOWARDS A MORE VALUABLE BUSINESS: Intentional Growth Financial Assessment Bio: Casey is on a mission to help organizations be paid well for their excellence. She leads a tea

Go big or go home, right!? That’s exactly what my guest today thought when the pandemic started and traditional business buyers disappeared from the scene of his industry and he had an opportunity to become the market maker. Today my guest is Jonathan Jay. Jonathan has been an entrepreneur since dropping out of university at age 19. Now 50 years old, he has built businesses in publishing, digital marketing, adult education and coaching, as well as preschool education and has sold each of them. During the pandemic, he made 48 business acquisitions to create the fourth largest group in his sector in under three years. Some of Jonathan’s deals were wildly successful, like the $4 million in revenue digital marketing company he bought for $1 and sold for $2 million six months later or the publishing company that changed his financial life forever. Other deals were not so easy, like the first company he bought (the publishing business) or the last roll up of 48 preschool daycares he bought during the pandemic. What I love about my conversation with Jonathan is how genuine he is about telling his story and the real ups and downs he experienced along the way. Anyone who is responsible for payroll knows it’s not all rainbows and unicorns–cash flow matters. It’s becoming more common for thought leaders these days to preach how “easy it is to buy a company with no money down” or “roll up an industry because of how huge the opportunity is.” Talking vs. doing are two very different things. Jonathan shares with me the major ups and downs throughout his journey with no filter. I loved it, and I hope you do too! // WATCH THE INTERVIEW ON YOUTUBE: Intentional Growth™ Podcast What You Will Learn How–and when–during his journey Jonathan came to the realization that a business is a financial asset and not just a job. Why Jonathan bought a digital marketing firm for $1 and was able to sell it for millions within a year. How Jonathan turned the failing digital marketing firm into a highly profitable company in a very short period of time. What happened that allowed Jonathan to buy so many companies so fast. How Jonathan financed the acquisitions of 48 companies. Why Jonathan ended up in the hospital during the roll up. How Jonathan took inventory about what mattered most to him in his life and how he recalibrated in order to get it. Why Jonathan thinks it’s crucial to know exactly what you are good

If you have been listening to the show for a while now, you know we are constantly talking about how to view–and run–a business like a financial asset. Bigger corporations typically have this mentality baked into their day-to-day lives and are laser focused on growing their share prices, and the executives' goals are to drive that share price up. Sometimes the best way to drive up the long-term share price is to divest of a weak product line, floundering business unit, or underperforming location in order to make room for profitable long-term growth. Today, I have John Walker from Prairie Capital Advisors on the show to share with us how the world of corporate divestitures works. John has been in the industry helping bigger companies sell off (divest) business units for decades. John walks us through how bigger corporations view value, why they would want to sell a division/unit/product line, and how they view the valuation during the sale. John does a great job explaining what drives the sale (“the purpose of the deal” as you hear me say a lot) and how that impacts the price that is paid. Understanding the M&A activity, especially within your industry, is a hugely important topic for a few reasons. First off, many of us middle-market entrepreneurs work with bigger companies (suppliers, manufacturers, distributors, customers, vendors, etc.), and it is important to understand what is going on behind the scenes and how a corporate divestiture could impact your relationship and the business you do with that company. Secondly, there could be an opportunity to capitalize on a corporate divestiture in your industry–or an adjacent one–that could take your company and valuation to a level that would not have been possible otherwise. And you never know…the seller just might not care about the price ;-) You will have to tune in to the episode to hear that part of the story! I hope you enjoy this interview with John. It’s a great view into a world most of us don’t often get exposed to! What You Will Learn How bigger companies manage their products and divisions like a mutual fund. Why a bigger company would sell a part of their business and not care what price they sell it for. What corporate divestitures are and why they are a normal business practice. Why a business owner would consider doing a corporate divestiture. The different reasons a company would sell off a product line, division, or location. Why it’s important to understand the intentions of a buyer. Who the different types of buyers are when a company divests of one of their companies. What corporate divestitures mean for the middle-market entrepreneur. John'

On today’s show I have Josh Golden on to share his story about how he started, grew, and sold his company Table XI (now TXI) to an ESOP on December 31, 2022. My favorite part of this interview? Josh focuses most of the interview about what went into his decision-making and why he sold the company to an ESOP. I was super excited to finally interview Josh because I have been watching his journey for over five years. It was fun to hear Josh reflect on the recent exit, especially because of how intentional he was over the last five years. Josh starts the interview by telling the story about how we met on a chairlift and struck up a conversation about him feeling “stuck” because he didn’t know what to do next with this business: continue growing it, sell it to a strategic buyer, do an ESOP, hire a CEO, etc. As Josh shares his journey from the origin story through the exit, he does an amazing job articulating what he was trying to accomplish at each stage, what was important to him at that point in the journey, why he made the decision he did, and how that decision played out based on what he wanted. I hope you enjoy listening to this conversation with Josh! // WATCH THE INTERVIEW ON YOUTUBE: Intentional Growth™ Podcast What You Will Learn Why Josh was feeling “stuck” and what questions were on his mind that he needed answers to. Why Josh decided to become an entrepreneur instead of following the academic route his parents took. The origin story of Table XI, early partnership buyouts, and how Josh feels about it today. Why it’s important to listen to the market and continue to evolve the business. What client requests you should say “yes” to based on how your company infrastructure is built and where you want to take the business. Josh's story of parting ways with high-ticket clients because values were not aligned. What “distracted visionaries” need to do when bringing people on. What it was like for Josh to take a back seat after hiring a CEO. What hiring a CFO did for the company’s performance and valuation. What led Josh to take his company the ESOP route. Why Josh didn’t convert to an ESOP when he first decided that was the exit he wanted and what he did in between that time in order to almost double the value of the business. // USE YOUR FINANCIALS TO CLARIFY A PATH TOWARDS A MORE VALUABLE BUSINES

QUARTERLY ECONOMIC AND M&A MARKET UPDATE Making real-time decisions–while staying on track toward long-term goals–is much more difficult today compared to only a few years ago. There are no shortages of headwinds to deal with: inflation, interest rates, labor issues, supply chain disruptions, returning to the office, and on and on. Sure, things are harder, but we entrepreneurs and leaders don’t have the luxury to stop and take a break to collect our thoughts and make peaceful decisions in a vacuum. We have to make crucial decisions–fast. This puts enormous pressure on our long-term plan and our real-time data. Our goal with this Quarterly Economic and M&A update is to provide you with relevant information (that is often much harder to find than it should be) so you can use it to enhance your decision-making and stay on track toward your future equity valuation targets. ITR Economics // Brian Beaulieu In the first segment, our sponsor and CEO of ITR Economics, Brian Beaulieu, brings us his thoughts about the macroeconomic picture. Brian and I talk about the potential for a 2023/2024 recession (and what’s causing it), what’s going on in the labor market, interest rates, inflation, and which industries will have no problem getting through the next two years. My favorite part of the interview is toward the end when I asked Brian what data to pay attention to. He nails the answer. Since this interview, I picked up their book How to Make Your Move again and it is SUCH a breath of fresh air. It makes all the sense in the world why their forecasting accuracy is 94.9 percent. Since 1948, ITR Economics has provided business leaders with economic information, insight, analysis, and strategy. ITR Economics is the oldest privately held, continuously operating economic research and consulting firm in the United States. ButcherJoseph // Jeff Buettner In the second segment, I have Jeff Buettner on from ButcherJoseph, an M&A advisory firm, to discuss what is going on in the deal space. Jeff and his firm are in the weeds every day doing deals, whether that is selling a company to a third party, converting a business to an ESOP, raising debt, or helping facilitate an internal buyout. With this experience, Jeff gives us his update on how the current environment–and all the challenges with it–are impacting valuations, deal structures, deal volume, and perspective of different buyers. I loved my conversation with Jeff. He had practical and actionable insights that give us a view into the privately held deal market that is hard to come by. The National Center for the Middle Market // Doug Farren In our last segment, Doug Farren, director of The Center for the Middle Markets, comes on the show to share the results of their semi-annual Middle Market Indicator (MMI) where they surveyed 1,000 middle-market companies. I loved this addition because we got

Ep.#2 [THEME EIGHT] The question “what is my purpose?” is searched over 5,000 times on Google globally each month. It seems like every media source has done a piece on “how important it is to find your purpose” in the past couple of years. I don’t think anyone argues how important it is, however, the bigger issue is HOW to find your purpose, and more importantly, how to do it in a way that makes sense without feeling guilty or anxious that you are not there yet. I find it super interesting how “having a purpose now” is almost becoming a fad similar to “being authentic.” However, I find the act of “trying to be authentic” an oxymoron. How do you try to be authentic? I think it’s similar to finding your purpose. It doesn’t just land in your lap, and the more you try, sometimes the further away you get. But that still leaves us all with the big question, “how do we find our purpose?” On today’s show I have entrepreneur and author Kevin W. McCarthy (not the speaker of the house ;-) who is the founder of consulting company On-Purpose and the author of The On-Purpose Person, The On-Purpose Business Person, Chief Executive Leadership Officer, and his new book Tough Shift. Kevin has been on the journey of helping entrepreneurs, owners, and leaders find their purpose since the late 1980s. I think he was a bit ahead of his time! If you find your purpose–your true purpose–you will feel a sense of alignment with the world, yourself, and the immediate environment around you. It feels like the things you are working on matter, you are progressing toward something bigger than yourself, and your skills are being used in a way that bring value to the world while you get rewarded for it. In this episode Kevin shares what the definition of purpose really is and his thoughts on the importance of the process of finding your purpose vs. getting to it as fast as possible and the iterating over time. Because of how long Kevin has been at this, he has very practical ways to think about what it means to “find your purpose” and “live your purpose.” This is a very practical and actionable conversation that should hopefully leave you encouraged that it is possible for everyone to find their purpose, but more importantly, why it shouldn't be overengineered and how to approach the journey in a way that gives you grace and not anxiety that you are “missing something important in life” but have no playbook on how to fill the gap. This conversation is an attempt to bring this topic–that most people agree is super important–down to earth so you can start making progress toward the purpose you have and how you can integrate it into your life and business. // WATCH THE INTERVIEW ON YOUTUBE:

Ep.#1 [THEME EIGHT] “Money can’t buy a calm mind, a fit body, a house full of love” - The Naval Podcast. In the episode where I heard this quote, Naval points out how Bezos, one of the wealthiest people on the planet, can’t use any of his money to buy these things. Does this resonate with you? It hit me like a ton of bricks. It made me think of all the people who have been on this podcast after selling their companies, have a huge portfolio of assets, and are still not happy because they have endless amounts of time and no purpose. Are you confident you are spending your time, energy, and capital each day in areas that will get you closer to where you want to be? In order to confidently answer yes, you need to peel back the onion and first figure out where you are today and then clarify your ideal vision for the future. I have found this to be a tough question for people to answer when I ask them “why” five times. Typically, when asking a business owner or entrepreneur what their goal is, I get an answer like revenue, net income, units, subscribers, employee count, or some other metric that–to me–is more of a vanity metric than an indicator of what that person truly values in life. On today’s show, I interviewed Spencer Hilligoss, the CEO of Madison Investing, a real estate investment club that has completed $2.3 billion in acquisitions with over 20,000 units. Spencer founded Madison Investing after sitting down with his wife–and now business partner –after hitting a breaking point while grinding away in their W2 jobs. They sat down and created a 15-year vision that included the annual income they needed to decouple their income from their labor, how they wanted to spend their time each day, and how they were going to achieve it. Spencer and Jennifer accomplished their 15-year plan within half the time and are now rethinking again what they want their life experiences and purpose to be. I really enjoyed the conversation with Spencer because of how clearly he describes the evolution to his approach and views on life, business, money, and time. He explains why he protects what he values and how he wants to spend the time he has each week, and why, regardless of the level of “success” he achieves. Do you want to be confident you are spending your time, money, and energy on the right things? The best way to answer this question is to think about what you want beyond just the vanity metrics. Regardless of how much money you make–or how big your company is–you will still be stuck with yourself, your mind, your body, and the people around you. On today’s show you will learn how to start thinking about your future goals in a new way. // WATCH THE INTERVIEW ON YOUTUBE: Intentional Growth™ Podcast What You Will Learn Why identifying the amount of annual income you need that is not tied to your labor–and how you will achieve it–is a crucial step to a

Ep.#5 [THEME SEVEN] Do you ever get frustrated because you feel like the vision you have for the future is perfectly clear - almost obvious - and all you have to do is connect the dots, wait, and get other people on board? Wouldn’t it be nice if it was that easy? I have always been passionate about this topic of a “Visionary” and what it truly means. Does it really mean something special, or is it just a term used to self diagnose a passionate entrepreneur who doesn't know how to explain why they see the world the way they do while conveniently explaining away our weaknesses? I tend to find that I (and many visionaries I know) have the gift of foresight, but it comes with pitfalls if not managed correctly - going too fast, leaving projects unfinished, getting distracted, hiring or partnering with the wrong people, or whatever else you can think of! The worst punishment of all? Not reaching your vision. This is why I really enjoyed today’s interview with Justin Breen. Justin is an entrepreneur and best selling author of “Epic Business” and “Epic Life.” Justin spent 20 years in the media business before starting BrEpic Communications, a premium PR firm specifically for Visionary entrepreneurs. I wanted to have Justin on the show because of his unique ability to completely understand Visionaries (strengths and weaknesses alike) and how to leverage the world changing ideas Visionaries come up with by putting them into action. Whether you are a Visionary - or work with one - this episode is worth the listen. Hopefully, you learn a few insights about yourself or the people you work with! // WATCH THE INTERVIEW ON YOUTUBE: Intentional Growth™ Podcast What You Will Learn Justin's definition of entrepreneurs vs. business owners vs. humans. The four common characteristics successful entrepreneurs share. What the KOLBE assessment is and how it is used to identify Visionaries, Integrators, and more. Why the KOLBE assessment is different than other assessments like Myers-Briggs or the DiSC assessment. Why most Visionaries are “quick starts”. What the best complimentary profile is for a Visionary and why. How to figure out which type of visionary you are so you can hire the right people to keep you focused. The types of people Visionaries need to avoid. The correlation between an entrepreneur's high IQ and happiness. // USE

Ep. #4 [THEME SEVEN] I am very excited to republish my interview with Jon Thielen as a way to wrap up our miniseries. Jon is an awesome example of the A-players we’ve been talking about. What better way to understand how to find, pay, and incorporate an A-player than hearing it from one of them! Today’s show is a replay of a conversation I had with Jon, who was hired on to a software company, grew it, and helped the owner sell it just a few years later for 11x EBITDA. In this interview, Jon tells us the story about the process he went through and why the core values of not only the business, but also the owner and founder, are one of the main driving factors that attract A-players. Jon explains why recruiting and building out teams was one of the first things Jon did once being brought on (and his dating approach to this), plus how Jon tied his marketing KPIs to his sales KPIs every single week. To wrap up the interview, Jon tells the story of how the owner approached selling and how Jon executed the plan by selling the company for 11x EBITDA while only staying on for five months after the sale. To hire A-players, you need to know how they think and how they approach the businesses they are working in. Jon does a great job! Enjoy! // WATCH THE INTERVIEW ON YOUTUBE: Intentional Growth™ Podcast What You Will Learn How Jon was sought out by the owner of a software company because of his growth mindset and business philosophy. Why Jon thinks EBITDA is the most important metric. Why Jon always wants to know the owner's core values before accepting a position. Jon’s dating mindset toward onboarding and building teams. How Jon tied his marketing KPIs to his sales KPIs. How Jon structured his bonus compensation plan. Jon’s approach to getting the company ready to sell since the owner wanted to be hands-off with the process. // USE YOUR FINANCIALS TO CLARIFY A PATH TOWARDS A MORE VALUABLE BUSINESS: Intentional Growth Financial Assessment Bio: Jon Thielen is a growth leader who has leveraged the principles of leadership to create accountable teams, operational discipline, and strategic growth strategies. As president, he sold a shareholder’s company for 11x in 2019. Jon Thielen builds scalable SaaS B2B and B2C sales growth strategies, driving revenues, profits, and engaging customer experiences. He has had leadership roles with media, start-ups, and data screening companies such as Trusted Employees, AOL/Patch.com, Internet Marketing, Inc, SanDiego.com and Citysearch.com. His focus is in the sales process, operational discipline, employee engagement, LEAN principles, continuous improvement, accountability, brand strategy, a proven process, and most importantly improving the on-boarding (CX) customer experience. Interview Quotes: 10:02 - “Primarily, I am a revenue-driving executive.” - JT 18:42 - “You can accomplish anything if you put it in front of you.” - JT 23:49 - “If you put incentive plans to change behavior, well, put the right behavior in.” -

Ep.#3 [THEME SEVEN] If you have been following along in this mini-series, we’ve been tackling one of the hardest topics an owner/leader typically faces: how to find, hire, and pay A-players. Today is part three of four, and we’re tackling how to engage an executive recruiter in case you want to go that route to find your next A-player. Hiring a recruiter to find your replacement can be a daunting task, not only financially but also emotionally. My goal with this interview is to demystify the process and services of an executive recruiter and give you the information you need before making a decision to hire within, recruit organically, or engage a firm to do it for you. Today on the show I interviewed Mike Frommelt, CEO of KeyStone Search, an executive recruiting firm based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Mike shares–with full transparency–how he sources, hires, and integrates high-level executives into companies with business owners who want to separate themselves from the management role. The reason I chose to have Mike on the show (again) was because of who he is and the approach his firm takes. Mike is one of the most genuine people I have met, and his firm specializes in EOS© founder-led companies as well as ESOPs. In this episode, you will learn how an executive recruiting firm finds key executives (especially since most of them already have jobs), how they can help you decide whether your internal candidates are an option, what assessments and vetting processes should be used to make sure these executives are the right fit for your company culture, how to effectively and efficiently go through the hiring process with these executives, and finally, what results you should expect, as the business owner, after these people are onboarded. Hiring a high-level person to fill your shoes on the leadership role (W2) side of your business is a huge milestone to getting back your freedom, creating value, and future choices about when and how you want to monetize your asset. Hopefully this episode gives you the confidence you need to know it is possible to find your replacement so you can enjoy work, create wealth, and have an impact. // WATCH THE INTERVIEW ON YOUTUBE: Intentional Growth™ Podcast What You Will Learn What you should expect when hiring an executive recruiter. How to determine whether you should hire within or go outside your company. The three phases an executive recruiter takes when placing someone in a company. How Mike assesses key executives to make sure they fit the company culture. What a culture blueprint is and how it’s part of recruiting and onboarding

Ep.#2 [THEME SEVEN] Do you dream of being a “passive” owner while a team of A-Player executives scale your company to new heights? Today’s episode is devoted to breaking down HOW to make this dream a reality by creating “Value Growth Partners” out of your A-Players via an executive compensation plan that aligns ownership and leadership’s short- and long-term goals. Today, I have Craig Rutledge, Managing Director of VisionLink, back on the show to break down in crazy detail the various ways to design a compensation package for your A-Players that you don’t regret, actually works, and pays for itself. Craig covers the spectrum of compensation plans from traditional wages/benefits, to short-term cash bonuses, to long-term value growth plans. He explains when and where each strategy is appropriate and the pros and cons of that particular strategy. One of my favorite parts of this episode is how much clarity is brought to the different types of compensation plans and the best ways to design them in order to align ownership and key executives’ goals. Craig makes it very clear–if the plan is designed correctly–that it should not only pay for itself, it should magnify your value growth strategies by tying the plan to your desired business model, target customers, good profit (as opposed to bad profit…yes, there is such a thing), and company culture. If the plan is designed right, it should increase your opportunity to decouple your leadership role from your ownership role, give you more time to actually work ON the business instead of IN the business, reduce your stress and anxiety, increase the value of your business, and give you options when you want to exit while simultaneously reducing the need to stay on after the sale. After having Craig on the show for a second time, I truly believe that it is possible to build a financial roadmap to your target equity valuation and hire A-Players that are tied to a plan that is 100 percent aligned with the business. The right plan, clean numbers, and the right A-Player should actually allow you to manage the business from an island via an executive scorecard… the dream EOS© is constantly preaching. // WATCH THE INTERVIEW ON YOUTUBE: Intentional Growth™ Podcast What You Will Learn The difference between short-term incentives versus long-term value creation. How to design a plan that pays for itself. How to turn your A-Players into “Value Growth Partners.” The difference between good profit and bad profit. Why it is not necessary to use insurance in a good executive plan. A ton of different ideas on how to vest the key executive. Why the r

Ep.#1 [THEME SEVEN] Do you feel burned out in your leadership role (job) because you’re working too much or because you can’t find anyone who can do what you can do? If you’re thinking what I’ve heard dozens of times, it’s something similar to: “I’ll never find someone who can replace me.” In today’s episode, I interviewed Dr. Sabrina Starling, and our goal is to give you hope that it is possible. We break down why it is possible to find A-players, what entrepreneurs are doing who have “figured it out,” and how an owner can afford A-players if cash is tight. Dr. Sabrina, The Business Psychologist and author of the How To Hire The Best series and The 4 Week Vacation®, is the founder of Tap the Potential. Dr. Sabrina became a coach because she realized that most of the entrepreneurs she was working with did not have the high quality of life they set out to have due to the lack of talent next to them at the top. She made it her mission to help business owners find, assess, and choose the right A-players because it was core to her purpose of helping entrepreneurs design their best life and “make it all worth it.” The takeaway—build a repeatable process for finding, assessing, and keeping A-players in order to get your life back and build a more valuable business…at the same time! Today you will learn the secret to attracting A-players (and why it’s not Indeed), how to build a company culture where A-players want to work, and how to build a high quality of life through A-players and leveraging your financial roadmap. // WATCH THE INTERVIEW ON YOUTUBE: Intentional Growth™ Podcast What You Will Learn The difference between A players and quiet quitters. How to bring out an A players intrinsic motivation that will help you reach your small business goals How to find A players (only 10% of the population are classified as A players Why your network is the best channel to find A players The secret ninja tactic you can use with you A players to create a vision more A players will buy into Why allowing your employees to have headspace will increase productivity How to afford A players using the 80/20 rule with your clients Why it’s important to hire with the lower level people so you can learn how to hire the right people Why Dr. Sabrina believes in giving out salary ranges with a job ad How to manage A players // USE YOUR FINANCIALS TO CLARIFY A PATH TOWARDS A MORE VALUABLE BUSINESS: Intentional Growth Financial Assessment Bio: Sabrina Starling, PhD, PCC, BCC, The Business Psychologist, is the bestselling author of The How to Hire the Best

Ep.#6 [THEME SIX] In order to turn your business into a machine that has sustainable, predictable, and transferable cash flow, you have to get your business out of your brain. I know–easier said than done. Most business owners don’t want to do the same thing twice, let alone sit down for long periods of time documenting their SOPs or writing out step-by-step how-to’s. That’s the problem today’s guest set out to fix. For the last episode of our equity growth miniseries, I speak with Chris Rozio, the founder and CEO of Trainual. Trainual is The Business Playbook–it helps you organize your chaos by systematizing onboarding, training, and knowledge transfer in a way that people will actually like and continue to use. Chris created Trainual to allow business owners to quickly take time out of their day to create, update, or share the playbook that runs their company. The best part–Chris and his team built a training system that wants you to spend less time…training. Chris started Trainual after successfully scaling and exiting his video production company. The idea behind Trainual started because Chris attributed a lot of the success behind his exit to the playbook he had for his business, which most people would argue couldn’t be scaled or sold–a video production company. His playbook allowed any new hire to come in and quickly carry out a successful client assignment, and he was able to show any potential buyer exactly how his company worked. The goal of a business playbook is to help you build a company that gives you the flexibility to reduce your hours, replace your leadership role, or exit the business when and how you please. // WATCH THE INTERVIEW ON YOUTUBE: Intentional Growth™ Podcast What You Will Learn What helps business owners turn the repeatable day-to-day tasks of their business into a how-to playbook. How Trainual can help business owners transform their business into a financial asset. How creating processes and procedures will help you exit your role OR ownership. The four sections a company is divided into when it comes to making a playbook. The first steps to creating your business’s playbook. Why you don’t need to know everything about your business when you start with processes–and how you can create the cadence of documenting everything. How to balance taking the time to design the systems versus executing them. How Chris creates his goals and puts them into action. Real-life sto

Ep.#5 [THEME SIX] I have personally wasted hundreds of thousands of dollars on failed marketing strategies…and I know I’m not the only one who feels like I’m throwing spaghetti against a wall while money flies out the window. In last week’s episode, we framed up what marketing KPIs matter and how to connect those metrics to the financials. Today we’re going to talk about why it’s NOT NECESSARY to guess anymore by implementing an engineering approach toward marketing. In today’s interview, I’m talking to Chris Sanchez, who is the lead advisor at Mint CRO (co-founded by one of the top marketing leaders at Microsoft). Mint CRO has provided CRO training and expert coaching to hundreds of entrepreneurs and marketers to accelerate growth, improve lead quality and sales conversions, and reduce ad spend. Clients have achieved 2X to 10X repeatable growth using Mint CRO’s systematic testing methodology, radically transforming their marketing results. Chris shares with us Mint CRO’s eight-step process on how to take the guessing away from marketing so you can understand what your customers want–all for under $1,500! Yes, it really is that inexpensive to understand which pain point you solve for your customers, what free offer they want from your brand, and if they are even looking at the offer page that you spent tens of hours building. The takeaway–There is a simple way to test your marketing to ensure your offer is something people actually want via an engineering approach toward marketing. This methodology applies to every business–even Arkona (listen in to hear how we’ve used this strategy)! // WATCH THE INTERVIEW ON YOUTUBE: Intentional Growth™ Podcast What You Will Learn: What Mint CRO is and why it allows companies to predict their growth. Why the engineering approach to marketing allows business owners to invest strategically into their marketing so they get the return on marketing they desire. The first thing you must have dialed in before you build a marketing funnel. How to test messaging with a simple “thumb stopper” approach. The three KPIs that define a winning message or tagline. Why you should test an offer before the offer is even made. Tools to use to clearly see if people are even engaging with your marketing efforts. How an engineering approach to marketing can predict your customer acquisition cost. Where this advertising approach can fit into a company's marketing strategy.

Ep.#4 [THEME SIX] Do you know what your return on marketing spend is and if it is growing the equity value of your company? A lot of business owners see marketing as an expense because they cannot clearly connect the marketing spend to a return on investment (also known as return on ad spend or ROAS). Today we have Jeff Campbell, co-founder of aiCommerce, on the show to walk us through what it takes to turn marketing into an investment. Jeff is the perfect person to speak on this topic because he has been an agency owner, sold his business, and now invests in–and manages–companies and brands. Jeff is one of the only people I have been able to have a dynamic conversation with about marketing strategies AND financials all at the same time ;-) He truly “gets it” and breaks it down in a way that should give anyone hope that marketing doesn’t have to be a money pit and can, in fact, be an engine for equity growth, if done properly. The three main takeaways of today’s interview are: 1) identifying the right KPIs, 2) how to calculate your contribution margin so you know how much it costs you to deliver your product or service, and 3) how to test different advertising channels while maintaining your desired ROAS. In addition, Jeff breaks down the very few levers he pays attention to when market testing a new product or service. Marketing shouldn’t be a guessing game. If you can understand how much it costs you to deliver your product and the lifetime value of a customer, you can market with a clear outline of what works and what doesn’t. If you want to answer the question: “How much money should I spend on advertising, with which products, while maintaining x margins, while maintaining and growing cash flow?” then you will want to tune in to this episode as well as the next one ;-) // WATCH THE INTERVIEW ON YOUTUBE: Intentional Growth™ Podcast What You Will Learn How to think about marketing as an investment and not an expense. What costs go into marketing and why the ROAS calculation is flawed with many brands. The different types of marketing that brands (companies) should be doing and why revenue should not be top priority. Jeff’s metrics (KPIs) that matter when scaling a company’s valuation. What contribution margin is, how to calculate it, why it matters, and how to use it. How to intentionally invest in marketing when you know the lifetime value of your customer. When and why breaking even on marketing can be a good strategy. How to integrat

Ep.#3 [THEME SIX] Do you know if owning and running a business is worth it for you? I have been hearing that question a lot lately. Today’s episode is all about figuring out the best way to answer that question. I have never met an entrepreneur or business owner that doesn’t know how to tell one hell of a story about where they have been, where they are, and where they want to go…however, I find most entrepreneurs don’t have the confidence to hit the throttle because they are afraid of the plan not working, running out of cash, and don’t have a clear sight into whether that plan will help them hit the future equity valuation they want in the future. On today’s episode we have my new partner at Arkona, Joel Beyer, on the show. Joel owned a multigenerational company that sold to the private equity firm my other partner, Matt Buskirk, sold to (and ran). Joel truly understands what it takes to build a plan, execute like hell, and course correct as things change. Today Joel and I talk about why the current method of planning, budgeting, and forecasting is broken, what it can (should) look like, and what to do about it. Joel breaks down why it’s important to normalize all of your company data under one dashboard; how to get started collecting your data, tying the short-term plan to the long-term equity target, and how to create a rolling forecast that updates your plan each month based on what was actually accomplished; and then updates your plan and progress toward your long-term goal. This was a super fun conversation that was heavily rooted in planning and finance…all without a bunch of financial jargon. I hope this helps you answer the most important question we all need to answer….“Is this worth it?” WATCH THE INTERVIEW ON YOUTUBE: Intentional Growth™ Podcast What You Will Learn Why the current method of planning, budgeting, and forecasting is broken. What bad financial planning looks like and what needs to be done to fix it. How to tie your operational data, workforce data, and financial data together into a holistic plan that actually makes sense to the brain of an entrepreneur. How to create value drivers into your plan so you can clearly see where you need to invest and why. How to spot future bottlenecks or tight cash positions. How to get visibility into the tradeoffs between distributions, funding growth, and taxes. How to answer the question, “If I hit the gas on our plan, what is the future impact on cash flow and valuation of the company?” How to eliminate “spreadsheet hell” because you are creating spreadsheets that are in isolation and not tied to the fin

Ep.#2 [THEME SIX] Today we are launching episode two in our mini-series “How to Grow The Equity Value of Your Company.” Patrick Donohue from Hill Capital joins us to talk about his newly released book, Breakout Valuation: How To Finance Your Future Today. During the interview, Patrick shares the nine components of a breakout valuation and how to use the financials as a road map to get you where you want to go. Patrick and Ryan discuss what it means to view and run a company like a financial asset and why there is a ‘capital gap’ in the middle market. Patrick then explains the different sources of capital, why they are different, and how to match the right type of capital with the long-term equity valuation goal of the owner. Even if finance isn’t your thing, this episode is for you. Patrick does a great job of explaining why it’s worth understanding the financials and how they give the necessary clarity on how to create a valuable asset. // WATCH THE INTERVIEW ON YOUTUBE: Intentional Growth™ Podcast What You Will Learn What a breakout valuation is and how to achieve one. Why the financials are the key to achieving a breakout valuation. What the capital gap is and why it impacts so many privately held businesses. What capital matching is and why it’s so important to get it right. The nine components of a breakout valuation. Why the founder and/or CEO’s magnetic vision is so important. What trust and emotion have to do with a breakout valuation. How the foundation of a vision is essential to a breakout valuation. The trifecta of cash management. The five big cash traps. What the ‘capital ecosystem’ is and why it matters. Why debt over equity can be beneficial for an entrepreneur in the long term. // USE YOUR FINANCIALS TO CLARIFY A PATH TOWARDS A MORE VALUABLE BUSINESS: Intentional Growth Financial Assessment Bio: Patrick Donohue is an Innovator, investor, financial analyst, investment banker, and entrepreneur. He specializes in finance strategy and executing corporate development initiatives for growth companies. He has helped author and execute numerous capital formation pl

Ep.#1 [THEME SIX] Today we are kicking off theme six, How to Grow The Equity Value of Your Business. In this episode, Ryan Tansom is going solo to explain what's to come in the next couple of weeks within this theme. He explains the importance of setting a proper (and achievable) financial goal based on what you, as the business owner, want to take home in distributions each quarter. Ryan explains how setting a proper financial goal will help you become strategic with your budgeting and reinvest into the company with a desired ROI each quarter. This episode is a high-level overview of this theme. Throughout this series, we dive deep into financial planning, tying marketing into your financials, and discovering an easier way to map out your processes and procedures. //WATCH THE INTERVIEW ON YOUTUBE: Intentional Growth™ Podcast What You Will Learn How to set a proper goal (financial roadmap). Why just a revenue goal is not good enough. The correlation between setting a good financial goal and having the day-to-day constraints be worth it. How EOS and financial planning go hand in hand during annual planning. How the three financial statements will give you a clear lens on how to reinvest into the company every year. How proper budgeting can predict what you will make within the next year. The 50/50 budgeting rule and why it’s important. // USE YOUR FINANCIALS TO CLARIFY A PATH TOWARDS A MORE VALUABLE BUSINESS: Intentional Growth Financial Assessment Bio: Ryan Tansom started his entrepreneurial career at his family business where he was the Executive VP and responsible for the strategic, operational, and financial strategy of the $21 Million company. Ryan helped turn the company around and bring intentional focus to the right strategies which enabled it to be sold for 8 figures to a local competitor in 2014. Ryan took his experience and founded Arkona, with his partner Pat, to create theIntentional Growth™ Framework which helps owners grow the value of their company with an end in mind through educational training, fractional CFO services and strategic planning. Ryan also hosts the popular Intentional GrowthTM podcast that has 310+ episodes, 420k+ downloads and guests like Gino Wickman, John Warrillow, and the editors of HBR and Inc. Magazine. Ryan also has a passion for speaking and delivers frequent keynotes. After thousands of meetings and hundreds of podcast interviews, he has his finger on the pulse of the market like few others. Interview Quotes: 09:39 - “Only acquire a company that’s going to increase the value of your company and your chances of getting to that $12 million equity

We all know how well the stock market is doing on any given day. All we have to do is pull out our phone or turn on the TV. What happens if you want to know how well the middle market of private businesses are doing? Where would you find the data? It’s not as easy as pulling out your phone, which is exactly why we did today’s interview. The middle market (businesses from $5 million to $1 billion) make up one-third of the US GDP. If this segment of companies was its own country, it would be the fifth largest GDP in the world. Even with the sheer size of the market, these companies don’t get a lot of attention; therefore, there is limited data, insights, and leading indicators on the overall health of over one-third of the US GDP. Today, Doug Farren, Director of The Center for the Middle Markets, is on the show to share the results of their semi-annual Middle Market Indicator (MMI) where they surveyed 1,000 middle-market companies. Doug reviewed the results of the MMI, discussed the five focus areas of the report (listed below), and how well the middle market is doing compared to over ten-plus years of the survey. Along with diving into the MMI, Doug also shares the findings of a new report they just wrapped up called “Owner Transitions in the Middle Market.” Because of how big the middle market is, if something big were to happen in that part of the economy, it affects all of us. That’s why these reports and what the National Center of the Middle Market is doing are so important. WATCH THE INTERVIEW ON YOUTUBE: Intentional Growth™ Podcast What You Will Learn The mission, and the reason for the existence of, the National Center for the Middle Market. How the National Center for the Middle Market captures their information from 1,000 middle-market companies two times per year. The 2022 findings behind the five main focus areas of the MMI survey: The three big issues middle-market companies are worried about when looking into the future. How the COVID disruption is still impacting supply chains and middle-market companies. An overview of the hiring and recruiting issues in middle-market companies. How the middle market is dealing with returning to the office and/or hybrid work. What most business owners are doing with their proceeds after they sell. The three challenges that business owners are having when preparing to sell. How large Fortune 500 companies are getting help from the National Center for the Middle Market. Why everyone shou

Today we have Jeanne Voigt on the show to talk about her experience starting, growing, and selling MindWare, a catalog and online retailer of educational toys. Jeanne started MindWare after leaving the corporate world when she was 39. Today she dives into detail about her initial go-to market strategy, why she realized her business model needed to be restructured, and how she “bet the farm” to grow a company that she would eventually sell after getting an out-of-the-blue offer she couldn’t refuse. Even though the offer was one she couldn't refuse at the time, Jeanne reflects during the interview about what worked and what did not and the things she may have done differently. WATCH THE INTERVIEW ON YOUTUBE: Intentional Growth™ Podcast What You Will Learn Why Jeanne decided to become an entrepreneur after talking with a mentor. How Jeanne built and scaled her business by simply observing what people wanted. How Jeanne realized she needed to rethink her business model and what she did about it. Jeanne’s story on “betting the farm” with her business while having no cash. How an out-of-the-blue offer shifted her mindset on the long-term vision of the company. Why Jeanne decided what she wanted and why out of her exit. How Jeanne compared the different offers and different buyers and why she made the choice she did. Why Jeanne brought her staff in on the meeting with potential buyers (even though that can be risky). The most important thing to MindWare’s employees when it came to what they wanted with a buyer. Some of the challenges of operating the company post-transaction–and why everyone was not aligned–even though the buyer was the top choice. Why the emotional side is something to keep in the forefront of your mind while going through the exit process. Jeanne’s reflections on what worked and what she may have done differently–based on what she knows now–during her journey growing and selling MindWare. // USE YOUR FINANCIALS TO CLARIFY A PATH TOWARDS A MORE VALUABLE BUSINESS: Intentional Growth Financial Assessment Bio: Jeanne M. Voigt is the founder of MindWare, a catalog and online retailer. She sold the company in 2003 but continued as president until 2007. She currently serves as a consultant and board member for the company and is

Ep.#12 [THEME FIVE] As we wrap up our four-part mini-series on ESOPs, we’re getting out of the weeds and coming back up for air. Today we’re going to be talking about ESOPs acquiring other companies and ESOPs selling to a third party (yes, both are possible!). In the second part of this episode, we finish with an owner's success story about why he turned his company into an ESOP and the amazing things that have happened since. In part one of this interview, Jim Steiker from SES ESOP shares his story about how hitchhiking led to a multi-decade career promoting ESOPs. He then dives into the full life cycle of an ESOP. He starts the segment with an awesome twist (a strategy that a seller can follow who DOESN’T want to take the time to convert to an ESOP but would like most of the legacy benefits): how a company can sell TO an already-formed ESOP. Jim explains the three reasons why most business owners don’t want to convert to an ESOP and how these reasons can be overcome by selling to one that is already formed. Jim then goes into detail on a few different strategies about how ESOPs can acquire companies and why. Jim finishes the segment by explaining how ESOPs can be sold to third-party buyers, how it works, and what it means to the employees. In part two of this interview, Ken Baker, CEO of New Age Industries, shares his owner's success story on how and why he turned his company into an ESOP. He explains–via his own experiences–how to maximize the benefits of the ESOP by ingraining it into your culture through education, strategy, and execution. To date, New Age Industries has created 54 millionaire employees. Ken explains why he believes an ESOP is one of the purest forms of capitalism and business models he has come across. Thank you for coming on this ESOP journey with us. We hope this series demystified ESOPs for you and got you up to speed on what they are, how they work, and why an ESOP might be the best fit for your company. // WATCH THE INTERVIEW ON YOUTUBE: Intentional Growth™ Podcast What You Will Learn Part 1: How Jim hitchhiked and became passionate about ESOPs. ​​The differences between selling to an already-formed ESOP and the normal M&A process of selling to a third party. The three main reasons people don’t sell to an ESOP. How–and why–selling to an already-formed ESOP can overcome many of the typical reasons sellers don’t pursue an ESOP. The full life cycle of an ESOP company. Why an ESOP company is a good exit alternative for a company who is not big enough to become an ESOP themselves. How–and why–ESOPs acquire other companies.

Ep.#11 [THEME FIVE] As we continue down this ESOP mini-series, we want to do some serious myth-busting by diving even deeper into the technical details on how ESOPs work. This two-part episode is all about deal structures, 1042 tax deferrals (similar to 1031 exchanges), seller’s potential to capture future equity growth via the form of warrants (similar to rolled equity), how to handle key executive compensation plans, and the shareholder benefits of transforming a company into an ESOP. In this episode, you will learn how an ESOP offers great tax benefits and how you can prepare to maximize your tax deductions before switching to an ESOP. Also in this episode, you will learn about the interview process from a trustee’s standpoint and about warrant options to ensure that the best interest of the employees are at the forefront of the deal without screwing over the primary seller. In part one of this episode, Keith Apton, the managing director of UBS’s ESOP Capital Group, talks about some false narratives with ESOPs, such as, “If I sell to an ESOP, I won’t get as much cash for my business.” He then talks about the 1042 tax code and discusses how converting the business from an S Corp to a C Corp could defer the gains at the time of the transaction and potentially indefinitely through estate planning. Keith tees up the topic of warrants and how they act as a form of rolled equity that can be as lucrative as the rolled equity in a private equity sale–except in an ESOP sale, the owner still has control over the direction of the company. Keith finishes this segment of the episode by sharing a story of what he thinks would change if S Corps had the same tax benefits as C Corps. In part two of this episode, Miguel Paredes, president of Prudent Fiduciary Services, is a trustee and shares stories about how a trustee keeps the employees’ best interests in mind without screwing over the seller, and even more so, being a partner that can help everyone get what they want out of the business during the transaction, and most importantly, in the future. Miguel goes deep into the mechanics of how warrants and SARs (stock appreciation rights) plans can be used to reward key executives with additional future equity based on the value they help create. He explains how exponential growth can happen when warrants for the seller are combined with SAR plans of the key executives and aligned with all the employees' incentives to grow the equity value of the company for their ESOP account. // WATCH THE INTERVIEW ON YOUTUBE: Intentional Growth™ Podcast What You Will Learn Part 1: How ESOP valuations compare to a strategic buyer. Various deal structures where an ESOP could potentially put more net proceeds into your bank account over the buyout period compared to a strategic buyer. How the 1042 tax code works, why it is similar to a 1031 exchange, and when it can be used. Why changing from an S Corp to a C Corp could potentially def

Ep.10 [THEME FIVE] In part two of our four-part ESOP series, we dive deep into the mechanical and legal relationship between you (the owner), the ESOP trust, the trustee, and the employees. We cover the role of a trustee in depth as well as more technical nuances about the legal structure of the trust, how the trust is managed, and when and how employees get their shares. In part one of this episode, Neil Brozen, a trustee who has been responsible for more than 300 ESOP transactions since 2005, talks about the role a trustee plays in an ESOP during the transaction as well as the ongoing management after the deal is done. Neil explains how the business owner gets to interview and select the trustee (the buyer) and what it’s like to negotiate the purchase of the business from the perspective of the trustee. Neil then shares the trustee’s involvement–and control–on an ongoing basis (which is much less involved than most people think), what rights the employees have, and why the company doesn’t turn into a “consensus-based” business after becoming an ESOP. In part two, we have David Solomon, a corporate M&A and ESOP attorney, who has been working in the ESOP space for many years. David walks us through the technical and legal journey a business owner goes through in order to set up an ESOP, such as what goes into the legal document of the trust, how company stock is allocated to employees, the ongoing involvement of advisors to manage the ESOP trust, and the one very important differentiator between an ESOP sale and an M&A sale. This episode is a deeper technical dive into ESOPs and answers questions many business owners have like, “who am I selling my company to and what will they do with my company?”; “what are the real benefits to my employees if I sell to an ESOP?”; and “what is it like to lead and what control do I have as a CEO after the transaction?” // WATCH THE INTERVIEW ON YOUTUBE: Intentional Growth™ Podcast What You Will Learn Part 1 The role of a trustee during the transaction in an ESOP. Why the trustee is the buyer that represents the ESOP and future employee shareholders. The engagement between a trustee and seller (business owner). What the process is like to pick a trustee. Who makes up the board of advisors in an ESOP and how they are chosen. The ongoing involvement of the trustee after the transaction. How decisions get made on the board. What happens if management and the board and the trustee don't agree.

Ep.#9 [THEME FIVE] Today we’re kicking off a new four-part miniseries on ESOPs to support Employee Ownership Month. Why are we spending four episodes diving into ESOPs? After over 400 Intentional Growth™ training sessions with entrepreneurs, ESOPs have repeatedly been a hot topic people are hungry for more in-depth details about. We end up answering the same questions over and over (which we love!), so we wanted to capture the answers to the most frequently asked questions around ESOPs–with the right experts–in a fun miniseries that can act as an ESOP 101 and 201 for all the people who want to know more. In this ESOP miniseries, Ryan has a co-host, Steve Storkan, the executive director of The Employee Ownership Exchange Network (EOX). EOX is a national organization that works to expand employee ownership across the U.S. by creating and supporting a network of non-profit state centers for employee ownership. Today Ryan and Steve interview Dave Diehl, the CEO of Prairie Capital Advisors, about the ins and outs of the transaction and what it takes to turn into an ESOP. This episode lays the groundwork for the next three episodes. Dave covers how ESOPs are valued, the process of selling to an ESOP, the unique tax breaks and how they work, the deal structure, when and how the seller (owner) gets their money, the role of the trustee, and how employees can begin to earn equity in the company they work for. Our goal in this episode is to give you the foundation–and context–you need to level up your understanding on how ESOPs work, what it’s like to run a company once it is an ESOP, and introduce the different topics we’ll be diving into in the next few weeks. Enjoy! // WATCH THE INTERVIEW ON YOUTUBE: Intentional Growth™ Podcast What You Will Learn The typical criteria needed to make sense for a business to become an ESOP. What the process looks like–and which advisors are needed–to sell your company to an ESOP. Why the seller gives the first offer in the negotiation process (usually this is the opposite when selling to a third party). Typical ways an ESOP sale is structured (cash up front, seller’s note, warrants, etc.) Why the crown jewel to an ESOP is to also be an S-Corp. Why the company doesn’t pay federal or state income taxes when it turns into an ESOP. The similarities of an ESOP to a 401(k). The role of a trustee in the transaction and how to spot a good or bad one. Why you get to interview and pick the trustee. The characteristics and attributes of a strong ESOP. How a business owner should start with an ESOP. The business owners get to interview their buyer (the trustee).

You may have heard the phrase “shirtsleeves to shirtsleeves in three generations” when talking about family business and succession planning. The statistics generally back this up, given only one-third of family businesses make it through the second generation, and only 13 percent make it through the third generation (2021 HBR study). But what if that doesn’t have to be the case? This episode is a real-life story on how Rachel Wallis Andreasson’s family business has successfully passed on their company(s) to the second–and now the third–generation. Rachel shares how her father started the business with one gas station and what her role was in doubling the company to over 1,000 employees and multiple companies. It was not all rainbows and unicorns. There have been plenty of challenges along the way (setting up family governance, separating leadership roles from ownership roles, deciding how to handle the future direction of the company, who should be CEO, how to handle leaders who are not part of the family, how to handle leaders that ARE part of the family, what role outside advisors play, and how the equity and distributions should be handled). This episode is a shining example for owners of family businesses (as well as non-family businesses) on how to set up your company to last generations. // WATCH THE INTERVIEW ON YOUTUBE: Intentional Growth™ Podcast What You Will Learn What led Rachel to rejoin the family business after working in corporate America for a while. How Rachel’s family defined leadership and shareholder roles. Why no family member got an elevated salary for being a “shareholder.” The three benefits of being a shareholder in a family business. How the family transition was handled from the first generation to the second. The various advisors that Rachel and her family used, the roles they played, and whether she thought they were worth it or not. Why the shift from a family business to a family run company was difficult. Why getting an outside consultant when needed was so beneficial to growing the family business. How Rachel and the board decided on how to reinvest and take distributions. Why Rachel left the family business–and how they handled it–after doubling the size of the company. // USE YOUR FINANCIALS TO CLARIFY A PATH TOWARDS A MORE VALUABLE BUSINESS: Intentional Growth Financial Assessment Bio: Rachel Wallis Andreasson joined Wallis Companies in 1993 and first served on the acquisition team that doubled the size of the company. Following the acquisition, she spent a year as a territory manager and then moved into the corporate headquarters to create a training department. From there, she added human resources, information technology, recognition, and retail operations. Prior to joining Wallis, she worked at South Seas Plantation in Florida as the training coordinator. Prior to South Seas Plantation, she worked for Pepsico managing Taco Bell quick-serve restaurants in Miami. Interview Quotes: 10:12 - “It was part of our identity. We talked about it at the dinner table. We all rolled quarters. We were all a part of the business at some point.” - Rachel Wallis Andreasson 16:03 - “I think for your own personal confidence, knowing you can go out and work for a another company–knowing how those companies operate–becaus

Ep.#7 [THEME FIVE] If someone were to ask you to create a short list of companies who should buy your company, it probably wouldn’t take you long. The list is most likely based on logical reasons these buyers would want to acquire your company, because by owning your company, it would help the buyer grow their business and take more market share. The goal of today’s episode is to better understand the mindset of strategic buyers, why they are buying companies, and what they plan on doing with the company after the purchase. Instead of just assuming why buyers would want to purchase a company, in this episode we get to understand the mindset of someone who has scaled a company and become a strategic buyer of dozens of companies in the home services space. On today’s show, Ryan talks to Tommy Mello, the owner of A1 Garage, author of the book Home Service Millionaire, and the host of the Home Service Podcast. Tommy shares how he went from two trucks in 2007 to over $150 million in revenue and over 500 employees through a combination of organic growth as well as strategic acquisitions. Tommy unpacks how he built A1 Garage into a machine and the various components and KPIs that run the machine. Tommy explains how they predictably scale organically as well as how they apply their internal playbook to companies they acquire within their space, both of which have fueled their exponential growth. // WATCH THE INTERVIEW ON YOUTUBE: Intentional Growth™ Podcast What You Will Learn What data and activities Tommy and his team work on every day and how that is tied to a future EBITDA and equity valuation. How Tommy built a team of rock stars that he delegated to without micromanaging them, even though he had problems in the past with trust. Why it is possible for Tommy to buy a company with $1 million in EBITDA and turn it into $4 million EBITDA within 18 months. How Tommy intentionally keeps himself in his “zone of genius” and how that keeps his energy and motivation levels high. How collaborating with the top industry software helped propel A1 into exponential growth. The role the industry software plays in acquisitions. How Tommy thinks about systems and processes and why that was so crucial to him hitting $100 million. The simple equation Tommy uses to decide what he needs to do every day to hit a certain revenue goal. What traits Tommy looks for in people that will help him scale. What a dream manager is and why it can be so crucial for the company culture.

Ep.#6 [THEME FIVE] What is an acquisition entrepreneur and search fund, what are the different types, and where do they get their money? In this episode, Walker Deibel is back on the show. Walker is a serial acquisition entrepreneur and author of Buy Then Build: How Acquisition Entrepreneurs Outsmart the Startup Game. He is here to share what an acquisition entrepreneur is, why the market is growing, where they get their money, how they structure their deals, and why they are on the hunt to buy companies. Today we are going to talk about the rise of the acquisition entrepreneur and how this particular exit option impacts your role as a leader, the valuations, and the variety of different deal structures. You will learn that acquisition entrepreneurs typically consist of a blend of MBA students backed by investors or corporate refugees who are looking to own a business but don’t want to go through the start-up phase. You will also learn that since they are typically solo-preneurs, they tend to stay in the market with companies below five million dollars in EBITDA. But what if your business is over five million dollars in EBITDA? That’s where we talk about search funds. Search funds are typically “scout teams” for investors or a group of acquisition entrepreneurs that hire students or “rookies” in the M&A space to find, negotiate, and land deals. The summary? The rise of the acquisition entrepreneur and search funds is playing a unique role in the market by matching up capital with talent in order to help facilitate the transition of millions of baby boomer businesses to the next generation. // WATCH THE INTERVIEW ON YOUTUBE: Intentional Growth™ Podcast What You Will Learn What an acquisition entrepreneur is and what their motives are. How acquisition entrepreneurs fund the purchase of a business and the role of an SBA loan. What a search fund is and the different flavors that are out there. The mindset of an acquisition entrepreneur and search fund. Why buying a business is much more logical than starting a business from scratch. How selling to an acquisition entrepreneur could impact your culture and legacy. The types and sizes of businesses that acquisition entrepreneurs typically target and why. How search funds started, how they work, and how they are different from an acquisition entrepreneur. Why a search fund is a “scout team” for investors.

Ep.#6 [THEME FIVE] What is an acquisition entrepreneur and search fund, what are the different types, and where do they get their money? In this episode, Walker Deibel is back on the show. Walker is a serial acquisition entrepreneur and author of Buy Then Build: How Acquisition Entrepreneurs Outsmart the Startup Game. He is here to share what an acquisition entrepreneur is, why the market is growing, where they get their money, how they structure their deals, and why they are on the hunt to buy companies. Today we are going to talk about the rise of the acquisition entrepreneur and how this particular exit option impacts your role as a leader, the valuations, and the variety of different deal structures. You will learn that acquisition entrepreneurs typically consist of a blend of MBA students backed by investors or corporate refugees who are looking to own a business but don’t want to go through the start-up phase. You will also learn that since they are typically solo-preneurs, they tend to stay in the market with companies below five million dollars in EBITDA. But what if your business is over five million dollars in EBITDA? That’s where we talk about search funds. Search funds are typically “scout teams” for investors or a group of acquisition entrepreneurs that hire students or “rookies” in the M&A space to find, negotiate, and land deals. The summary? The rise of the acquisition entrepreneur and search funds is playing a unique role in the market by matching up capital with talent in order to help facilitate the transition of millions of baby boomer businesses to the next generation. // WATCH THE INTERVIEW ON YOUTUBE: Intentional Growth™ Podcast What You Will Learn What an acquisition entrepreneur is and what their motives are. How acquisition entrepreneurs fund the purchase of a business and the role of an SBA loan. What a search fund is and the different flavors that are out there. The mindset of an acquisition entrepreneur and search fund. Why buying a business is much more logical than starting a business from scratch. How selling to an acquisition entrepreneur could impact your culture and legacy. The types and sizes of businesses that acquisition entrepreneurs typically target and why. How search funds started, how they work, and how they are different from an acquisition entrepreneur. Why a search fund is a “scout team” for investors.

Ep.#5 [THEME FIVE] What is a fair price to pay if you want to hire an investment banker/broker to sell your company? What value and services should you expect in return for the price you pay? In the middle and lower private markets, these questions have traditionally been very opaque. Typically, entrepreneurs have to find answers to these questions by meeting with multiple advisors, talking to their network, and discussing the topic in their peer groups. Today on the show, Peter Lehrman, the Founder of Axial, the M&A and capital raising platform for the middle market, is back on to help us shine light into this cloudy area of the M&A market by reviewing the results of the Axial’s 2021/22 M&A Fee Guide. Axial and Firmex just released the results of an online survey that was completed by 269 middle market professionals from July through September 2021. Three-quarters of them work as investment bankers or merger advisors, and another ten percent call themselves business brokers. Many of them are leaders at their firms. You might be asking, why is this important? If you are like many business owners, when you think of hiring a banker/broker, you think of the direct cost that will be taken out of the transaction. However, this hire is almost essential. Doing all the paperwork and organization while selling a company is not just a night and weekend job. If done correctly, an intermediary can provide invaluable advice, experience, and resources to the sale process of a company. They should pay for their fees and more. On today’s show, Ryan and Peter Lehrman not only review the survey’s results, they talk about how to find, negotiate, and engage with an investment banker or broker. // WATCH THE INTERVIEW ON YOUTUBE: Intentional Growth™ Podcast What You Will Learn Key insights on M&A advisory fees in the middle market. The different types of M&A advisors and how to understand the differences. The variety of ways M&A advisors structure their fees and engagements. Why it’s important to understand the number of companies a firm typically sells a year. What a firm’s deal flow, the number of active engagements, and the size of the firm mean to you. The different ways upfront fees work and what you should expect from the engagement. How the transaction fee is determined, the range of percentages advisors charge, and what may or may not be negotiable. Why extremely high upfront fees can be a huge red flag and what to do about it. What the negotiables are when looking to hire an M&A advisor.

Ep.#5 [THEME FIVE] What is a fair price to pay if you want to hire an investment banker/broker to sell your company? What value and services should you expect in return for the price you pay? In the middle and lower private markets, these questions have traditionally been very opaque. Typically, entrepreneurs have to find answers to these questions by meeting with multiple advisors, talking to their network, and discussing the topic in their peer groups. Today on the show, Peter Lehrman, the Founder of Axial, the M&A and capital raising platform for the middle market, is back on to help us shine light into this cloudy area of the M&A market by reviewing the results of the Axial’s 2021/22 M&A Fee Guide. Axial and Firmex just released the results of an online survey that was completed by 269 middle market professionals from July through September 2021. Three-quarters of them work as investment bankers or merger advisors, and another ten percent call themselves business brokers. Many of them are leaders at their firms. You might be asking, why is this important? If you are like many business owners, when you think of hiring a banker/broker, you think of the direct cost that will be taken out of the transaction. However, this hire is almost essential. Doing all the paperwork and organization while selling a company is not just a night and weekend job. If done correctly, an intermediary can provide invaluable advice, experience, and resources to the sale process of a company. They should pay for their fees and more. On today’s show, Ryan and Peter Lehrman not only review the survey’s results, they talk about how to find, negotiate, and engage with an investment banker or broker. // WATCH THE INTERVIEW ON YOUTUBE: Intentional Growth™ Podcast What You Will Learn Key insights on M&A advisory fees in the middle market. The different types of M&A advisors and how to understand the differences. The variety of ways M&A advisors structure their fees and engagements. Why it’s important to understand the number of companies a firm typically sells a year. What a firm’s deal flow, the number of active engagements, and the size of the firm mean to you. The different ways upfront fees work and what you should expect from the engagement. How the transaction fee is determined, the range of percentages advisors charge, and what may or may not be negotiable. Why extremely high upfront fees can be a huge red flag and what to do about it. What the negotiables are when looking to hire an M&A advisor.

Ep.#4 [THEME FIVE] Many entrepreneurs want to diversify their wealth out of their largest asset–their business. But what if you had so much wealth that you needed to diversify out of the public markets into privately held companies? Today on the podcast, we get a special look into what it’s like to view–and invest in–privately held companies from the perspective of a family office. A family office is a privately held company that handles investment management and wealth management for a wealthy family, generally one with over $100 million in investable assets, with the goal being to effectively grow and transfer wealth across generations. The company's financial capital is the family's own wealth. (Wikipedia) In this episode, Paul Moffatt is on the show and shares with us how the family office he works for, Encore One, is structured, why they buy privately held companies, their approach, and what they do with them over time. Encore One is over twenty years old and focuses on preserving the long-term legacy of their portfolio companies versus buying, gutting, and selling. In this episode, you will learn how Encore One reinvests the cash from their portfolio companies, how they make money, and why they have found their success in long-term holds (ten years and older). One thing Paul really leans into is how important it is to be aligned with their seller and management team on the future direction of the business. // WATCH THE INTERVIEW ON YOUTUBE: Intentional Growth™ Podcast What You Will Learn The structure of Encore One and how they run independently under the same trust. Why Paul and his company don’t take out dividends from their portfolio companies. Encore One’s mindset with their portfolio company and why it’s very long-term hold based. Why Paul just focuses on acquiring one or two companies a year versus aggressive growth. What happens when a private equity firm holds on to a company long-term versus buying and selling. Paul’s deal structure and who it best suits. How Encore One manages engagement with their portfolio companies so people are validated that they are professionally growing. How Encore One makes money from all of its entities underneath one big trust. // USE YOUR FINANCIALS TO CLARIFY A PATH TOWARDS A MORE VALUABLE BUSINESS: Intentional Growth Financial Assessment Bio: Paul has spent his entire career serving the middle market. Prior to joining Encore One in 2017, Paul enjoyed a successful 16-year career in commercial banking, most recently as a vice president in the Twin Cities Commercial Banking Group at U.S. Bank. Prior to joining U.S. Bank in the Twin Cities, Paul held similar roles at LaSalle Bank, Cole Taylor Bank, and MB Financial in Chicago. Paul has helped advise and fund over one hundred companies in various stages of development with a wide range of transactions and special situations. Paul graduated from Marquette University with a BS in Finance and minor in Political Science. He received his MBA from the Kellstadt School of Business at DePaul University. Paul lives with his wife and two children in Saint Paul, Minnesota.

Ep.#4 [THEME FIVE] Many entrepreneurs want to diversify their wealth out of their largest asset–their business. But what if you had so much wealth that you needed to diversify out of the public markets into privately held companies? Today on the podcast, we get a special look into what it’s like to view–and invest in–privately held companies from the perspective of a family office. A family office is a privately held company that handles investment management and wealth management for a wealthy family, generally one with over $100 million in investable assets, with the goal being to effectively grow and transfer wealth across generations. The company's financial capital is the family's own wealth. (Wikipedia) In this episode, Paul Moffatt is on the show and shares with us how the family office he works for, Encore One, is structured, why they buy privately held companies, their approach, and what they do with them over time. Encore One is over twenty years old and focuses on preserving the long-term legacy of their portfolio companies versus buying, gutting, and selling. In this episode, you will learn how Encore One reinvests the cash from their portfolio companies, how they make money, and why they have found their success in long-term holds (ten years and older). One thing Paul really leans into is how important it is to be aligned with their seller and management team on the future direction of the business. // WATCH THE INTERVIEW ON YOUTUBE: Intentional Growth™ Podcast What You Will Learn The structure of Encore One and how they run independently under the same trust. Why Paul and his company don’t take out dividends from their portfolio companies. Encore One’s mindset with their portfolio company and why it’s very long-term hold based. Why Paul just focuses on acquiring one or two companies a year versus aggressive growth. What happens when a private equity firm holds on to a company long-term versus buying and selling. Paul’s deal structure and who it best suits. How Encore One manages engagement with their portfolio companies so people are validated that they are professionally growing. How Encore One makes money from all of its entities underneath one big trust. // USE YOUR FINANCIALS TO CLARIFY A PATH TOWARDS A MORE VALUABLE BUSINESS: Intentional Growth Financial Assessment Bio: Paul has spent his entire career serving the middle market. Prior to joining Encore One in 2017, Paul enjoyed a successful 16-year career in commercial banking, most recently as a vice president in the Twin Cities Commercial Banking Group at U.S. Bank. Prior to joining U.S. Bank in the Twin Cities, Paul held similar roles at LaSalle Bank, Cole Taylor Bank, and MB Financial in Chicago. Paul has helped advise and fund over one hundred companies in various stages of development with a wide range of transactions and special situations. Paul graduated from Marquette University with a BS in Finance and minor in Political Science. He received his MBA from the Kellstadt School of Business at DePaul University. Paul lives with his wife and two children in Saint Paul, Minnesota.

Ep.#3 [THEME FIVE] Brent Beshore and his firm Permanent Equity are a perfect example that not all private equity firms are the same. Brent is the CEO and founder, and in today’s interview he talks about the unique approach his firm has in a “messy marketplace” to help business owners monetize their largest asset and step back from their day-to-day work in the company, all while maintaining their legacy. In this episode, Brent and Ryan talk about why Permanent Equity has a 30-year time horizon (typically it’s ten years or less), how he landed on this model, and why he has been able to raise over $300 million based on their philosophy. From there, Brent explains his approach to acquiring companies–both financially and philosophically–and why he focuses so much on alignment with the business owner and management team of the seller. Brent has a very unique approach to private equity, and today you will learn one of the fundamental principles his entire business is built on: transparency–and why it has yielded so much success. // WATCH THE INTERVIEW ON YOUTUBE: Intentional Growth™ Podcast What You Will Learn How Permanent Equity returns the capital to their investors with the desired rate of return even though there is a 30-year hold period. How Brent and Permanent Equity are able to raise hundreds of millions of dollars from investors on inbound requests only. How Permanent Equity makes money without charging management fees. Why Brent’s firm has a 30-year time horizon and what doors that has opened up for his firm and portfolio companies. How Brent and Permanent Equity view deal structures and debt in his acquisitions. Why Brent believes compounding (money and relationships) over long periods of time will get the maximum year ROI for all the stakeholders. Why the biggest check written to a business owner could mean they don’t have any say in what happens next with their company. Why Brent wants to partner with the existing owners of the companies. Why transparency is Brent’s main philosophy when it comes to working with stakeholders and how it has avoided bad deals. // USE YOUR FINANCIALS TO CLARIFY A PATH TOWARDS A MORE VALUABLE BUSINESS: Intentional Growth Financial Assessment Bio: Brent Beshore is the CEO and founder of Permanent Equity. Brent leads the firm and, more specifically, the acquisition and diligence teams while supporting portfolio company operators. Brent also serves on the board of Love Columbia, a mid-Misso

Ep.#3 [THEME FIVE] Brent Beshore and his firm Permanent Equity are a perfect example that not all private equity firms are the same. Brent is the CEO and founder, and in today’s interview he talks about the unique approach his firm has in a “messy marketplace” to help business owners monetize their largest asset and step back from their day-to-day work in the company, all while maintaining their legacy. In this episode, Brent and Ryan talk about why Permanent Equity has a 30-year time horizon (typically it’s ten years or less), how he landed on this model, and why he has been able to raise over $300 million based on their philosophy. From there, Brent explains his approach to acquiring companies–both financially and philosophically–and why he focuses so much on alignment with the business owner and management team of the seller. Brent has a very unique approach to private equity, and today you will learn one of the fundamental principles his entire business is built on: transparency–and why it has yielded so much success. // WATCH THE INTERVIEW ON YOUTUBE: Intentional Growth™ Podcast What You Will Learn How Permanent Equity returns the capital to their investors with the desired rate of return even though there is a 30-year hold period. How Brent and Permanent Equity are able to raise hundreds of millions of dollars from investors on inbound requests only. How Permanent Equity makes money without charging management fees. Why Brent’s firm has a 30-year time horizon and what doors that has opened up for his firm and portfolio companies. How Brent and Permanent Equity view deal structures and debt in his acquisitions. Why Brent believes compounding (money and relationships) over long periods of time will get the maximum year ROI for all the stakeholders. Why the biggest check written to a business owner could mean they don’t have any say in what happens next with their company. Why Brent wants to partner with the existing owners of the companies. Why transparency is Brent’s main philosophy when it comes to working with stakeholders and how it has avoided bad deals. // USE YOUR FINANCIALS TO CLARIFY A PATH TOWARDS A MORE VALUABLE BUSINESS: Intentional Growth Financial Assessment Bio: Brent Beshore is the CEO and founder of Permanent Equity. Brent leads the firm and, more specifically, the acquisition and diligence teams while supporting portfolio company operators. Brent also serves on the board of Love Columbia, a mid-Misso

Ep.#2 [THEME FIVE] If you’ve seen one private equity firm, you’ve seen one private equity firm. There are about 8,000 PE firms in the United States, and they are all structured differently and have different types of people running them. In this episode, Ryan and his guest Sunny Vanderbeck shine a light on the black box of private equity so you can better understand how it works and how to ask the right questions so you can determine whether the PE firm you are talking to is something you should consider or not. Our guest, Sunny Vanderbeck, is an investor, entrepreneur, best-selling author, and former military leader. Sunny is the perfect guest to dissect private equity because he is the co-founder of Satori Capital, a multi-strategy investment firm founded on the principles of conscious capitalism. This is very unique because Sunny’s firm is an “indefinite hold period” firm rather than a normal private equity firm that buys and sells a business within five to seven years. Sunny and Ryan explain where the money in private equity comes from (limited partners), why they buy companies (investment thesis), the different ways they structure the deals, what it can be like working under the management of a private equity owned company, and how private equity delivers the capital to their limited partners. This is a great episode to tune into if you want to better understand the world of private equity and how it works. // WATCH THE INTERVIEW ON YOUTUBE: Intentional Growth™ Podcast What You Will Learn Where the money in private equity comes from (limited partners) and what their expectations are. How the ownership structure of a private equity firm works and the different roles within a firm. How private equity firms get paid and what the 2 and 20 rule is. What carried interest is and why it’s one of the major opportunities for private equity. How private equity funds are structured and how the capital is deployed. How the typical private equity timeline works and how they impact the fund and each company they buy. What investment periods are and why they matter to the sellers. The difference between bolt-on versus platform companies and how they impact the valuation. When and why a private equity uses debt versus equity, how it impacts the purchase price, and what that can mean after the sale. Why some private equity firms buy to own and why some buy to sell. What the second bite at the apple means. Why most private equity firms want you to roll a percentage of your proceeds back into the deal (rolled equity). Things to think about–and what it could be like–when working as an employee of a private equity owned company. Questions a business owner–and seller–should ask a private equity firm when negotiating a sale. // USE YOUR FINANCIALS TO CLARIFY A PATH TOWARDS A MORE VALUABLE BUSINESS: Intentional Growth Financial Assessment Bio: Sunny Vanderbeck is an investor, entrepreneur, best-selling author, and former military leader focused on accelerating the growth of mid-market companies and creating best-in-class, built-to-last businesses. Sunny is co-founder of Satori Capital, a multi-strategy investment firm founded on the principles of conscious capitalism. By providing real-world insights from its experienced team and long-term funding with no fix

Ep.#2 [THEME FIVE] If you’ve seen one private equity firm, you’ve seen one private equity firm. There are about 8,000 PE firms in the United States, and they are all structured differently and have different types of people running them. In this episode, Ryan and his guest Sunny Vanderbeck shine a light on the black box of private equity so you can better understand how it works and how to ask the right questions so you can determine whether the PE firm you are talking to is something you should consider or not. Our guest, Sunny Vanderbeck, is an investor, entrepreneur, best-selling author, and former military leader. Sunny is the perfect guest to dissect private equity because he is the co-founder of Satori Capital, a multi-strategy investment firm founded on the principles of conscious capitalism. This is very unique because Sunny’s firm is an “indefinite hold period” firm rather than a normal private equity firm that buys and sells a business within five to seven years. Sunny and Ryan explain where the money in private equity comes from (limited partners), why they buy companies (investment thesis), the different ways they structure the deals, what it can be like working under the management of a private equity owned company, and how private equity delivers the capital to their limited partners. This is a great episode to tune into if you want to better understand the world of private equity and how it works. // WATCH THE INTERVIEW ON YOUTUBE: Intentional Growth™ Podcast What You Will Learn Where the money in private equity comes from (limited partners) and what their expectations are. How the ownership structure of a private equity firm works and the different roles within a firm. How private equity firms get paid and what the 2 and 20 rule is. What carried interest is and why it’s one of the major opportunities for private equity. How private equity funds are structured and how the capital is deployed. How the typical private equity timeline works and how they impact the fund and each company they buy. What investment periods are and why they matter to the sellers. The difference between bolt-on versus platform companies and how they impact the valuation. When and why a private equity uses debt versus equity, how it impacts the purchase price, and what that can mean after the sale. Why some private equity firms buy to own and why some buy to sell. What the second bite at the apple means. Why most private equity firms want you to roll a percentage of your proceeds back into the deal (rolled equity). Things to think about–and what it could be like–when working as an employee of a private equity owned company. Questions a business owner–and seller–should ask a private equity firm when negotiating a sale. // USE YOUR FINANCIALS TO CLARIFY A PATH TOWARDS A MORE VALUABLE BUSINESS: Intentional Growth Financial Assessment Bio: Sunny Vanderbeck is an investor, entrepreneur, best-selling author, and former military leader focused on accelerating the growth of mid-market companies and creating best-in-class, built-to-last businesses. Sunny is co-founder of Satori Capital, a multi-strategy investment firm founded on the principles of conscious capitalism. By providing real-world insights from its experienced team and long-term funding with no fix

Ep.#2 [THEME FIVE] If you’ve seen one private equity firm, you’ve seen one private equity firm. There are about 8,000 PE firms in the United States, and they are all structured differently and have different types of people running them. In this episode, Ryan and his guest Sunny Vanderbeck shine a light on the black box of private equity so you can better understand how it works and how to ask the right questions so you can determine whether the PE firm you are talking to is something you should consider or not. Our guest, Sunny Vanderbeck, is an investor, entrepreneur, best-selling author, and former military leader. Sunny is the perfect guest to dissect private equity because he is the co-founder of Satori Capital, a multi-strategy investment firm founded on the principles of conscious capitalism. This is very unique because Sunny’s firm is an “indefinite hold period” firm rather than a normal private equity firm that buys and sells a business within five to seven years. Sunny and Ryan explain where the money in private equity comes from (limited partners), why they buy companies (investment thesis), the different ways they structure the deals, what it can be like working under the management of a private equity owned company, and how private equity delivers the capital to their limited partners. This is a great episode to tune into if you want to better understand the world of private equity and how it works. // WATCH THE INTERVIEW ON YOUTUBE: Intentional Growth™ Podcast What You Will Learn Where the money in private equity comes from (limited partners) and what their expectations are. How the ownership structure of a private equity firm works and the different roles within a firm. How private equity firms get paid and what the 2 and 20 rule is. What carried interest is and why it’s one of the major opportunities for private equity. How private equity funds are structured and how the capital is deployed. How the typical private equity timeline works and how they impact the fund and each company they buy. What investment periods are and why they matter to the sellers. The difference between bolt-on versus platform companies and how they impact the valuation. When and why a private equity uses debt versus equity, how it impacts the purchase price, and what that can mean after the sale. Why some private equity firms buy to own and why some buy to sell. What the second bite at the apple means. Why most private equity firms want you to roll a percentage of your proceeds back into the deal (rolled equity). Things to think about–and what it could be like–when working as an employee of a private equity owned company. Questions a business owner–and seller–should ask a private equity firm when negotiating a sale. // USE YOUR FINANCIALS TO CLARIFY A PATH TOWARDS A MORE VALUABLE BUSINESS: Intentional Growth Financial Assessment Bio: Sunny Vanderbeck is an investor, entrepreneur, best-selling author, and former military leader focused on accelerating the growth of mid-market companies and creating best-in-class, built-to-last businesses. Sunny is co-founder of Satori Capital, a multi-strategy investment firm founded on the principles of conscious capitalism. By providing real-world insights from its experienced team and long-term funding with no fix

Ep. #1 [THEME FIVE] Today we’re kicking off our next mini-series theme: Through the Eyes of the Buyer: Understanding Your Exit Options. In this episode, host Ryan Tansom is running solo and lays the foundation for the following episodes where he interviews a wide variety of business buyers. Today Ryan gives an overview of each of the 5 major exit options and how you, as a business owner, can decide which exit option is best for you. When listening to this episode, it’s important to remember the concept of “ownership vs. management roles” and how they need to be separated so you can learn how to build a path forward for each. This is extremely important because your management role and ownership role (your equity) are impacted differently with each exit option. For example, you could exit your ownership role by selling the equity in your business (your financial asset) AND continue running the company as the CEO if you want, OR you could quit your W2 job while still staying an owner by keeping your equity in the business. Like many of our listeners, you may be asking questions like: “Even though I don’t want to sell, what are all my exit options and how do they work?”; “Which exit option is best for me?”; or “How do I know if I am handing the keys to my business over to the right buyer?” Today’s episode is a great starting spot to help you clarify the variety of ways you can exit a company and what’s important to think about as you begin to explore the topic. // WATCH THE INTERVIEW ON YOUTUBE: Intentional Growth™ Podcast What You Will Learn Introduction to the 5 main exit options in the Intentional Growth™ Principle #3: Why, and how, Arkona chose these 5 main exit options. The importance of understanding the difference between your ownership and management roles on the various exit options. Things to consider when looking at an internal transfer/buyout. What an acquisition entrepreneur/search fund is, how it works, and why it’s become popular. Overview of what an ESOP is and how it works. Why an ESOP can provide some huge tax breaks. Overview of the private equity landscape and the different flavors that have started to become popular. Why all private equity firms are not created equally. Ways to figure out if a business buyer’s core values are aligned with yours. How to

Ep. #1 [THEME FIVE] Today we’re kicking off our next mini-series theme: Through the Eyes of the Buyer: Understanding Your Exit Options. In this episode, host Ryan Tansom is running solo and lays the foundation for the following episodes where he interviews a wide variety of business buyers. Today Ryan gives an overview of each of the 5 major exit options and how you, as a business owner, can decide which exit option is best for you. When listening to this episode, it’s important to remember the concept of “ownership vs. management roles” and how they need to be separated so you can learn how to build a path forward for each. This is extremely important because your management role and ownership role (your equity) are impacted differently with each exit option. For example, you could exit your ownership role by selling the equity in your business (your financial asset) AND continue running the company as the CEO if you want, OR you could quit your W2 job while still staying an owner by keeping your equity in the business. Like many of our listeners, you may be asking questions like: “Even though I don’t want to sell, what are all my exit options and how do they work?”; “Which exit option is best for me?”; or “How do I know if I am handing the keys to my business over to the right buyer?” Today’s episode is a great starting spot to help you clarify the variety of ways you can exit a company and what’s important to think about as you begin to explore the topic. // WATCH THE INTERVIEW ON YOUTUBE: Intentional Growth™ Podcast What You Will Learn Introduction to the 5 main exit options in the Intentional Growth™ Principle #3: Why, and how, Arkona chose these 5 main exit options. The importance of understanding the difference between your ownership and management roles on the various exit options. Things to consider when looking at an internal transfer/buyout. What an acquisition entrepreneur/search fund is, how it works, and why it’s become popular. Overview of what an ESOP is and how it works. Why an ESOP can provide some huge tax breaks. Overview of the private equity landscape and the different flavors that have started to become popular. Why all private equity firms are not created equally. Ways to figure out if a business buyer’s core values are aligned with yours. How to

Ep. #1 [THEME FIVE] Today we’re kicking off our next mini-series theme: Through the Eyes of the Buyer: Understanding Your Exit Options. In this episode, host Ryan Tansom is running solo and lays the foundation for the following episodes where he interviews a wide variety of business buyers. Today Ryan gives an overview of each of the 5 major exit options and how you, as a business owner, can decide which exit option is best for you. When listening to this episode, it’s important to remember the concept of “ownership vs. management roles” and how they need to be separated so you can learn how to build a path forward for each. This is extremely important because your management role and ownership role (your equity) are impacted differently with each exit option. For example, you could exit your ownership role by selling the equity in your business (your financial asset) AND continue running the company as the CEO if you want, OR you could quit your W2 job while still staying an owner by keeping your equity in the business. Like many of our listeners, you may be asking questions like: “Even though I don’t want to sell, what are all my exit options and how do they work?”; “Which exit option is best for me?”; or “How do I know if I am handing the keys to my business over to the right buyer?” Today’s episode is a great starting spot to help you clarify the variety of ways you can exit a company and what’s important to think about as you begin to explore the topic. // WATCH THE INTERVIEW ON YOUTUBE: Intentional Growth™ Podcast What You Will Learn Introduction to the 5 main exit options in the Intentional Growth™ Principle #3: Why, and how, Arkona chose these 5 main exit options. The importance of understanding the difference between your ownership and management roles on the various exit options. Things to consider when looking at an internal transfer/buyout. What an acquisition entrepreneur/search fund is, how it works, and why it’s become popular. Overview of what an ESOP is and how it works. Why an ESOP can provide some huge tax breaks. Overview of the private equity landscape and the different flavors that have started to become popular. Why all private equity firms are not created equally. Ways to figure out if a business buyer’s core values are aligned with yours. How to

Ep.#2 [THEME FOUR] Running a business is a lot like running a sports team. You need all the positions filled—ideally with the top talent—in order to even participate in the game. Many middle-market private companies are going without positions that are needed in order to participate in the game. So many lack the resources to find, hire, and maintain A-player executives who can fill each function (finance, sales, marketing, IT, HR, etc.). A-players completely take the responsibility for the department, come up with a long-term plan, and execute their strategic initiatives with accuracy against that plan because they have “been there and done that” before. Without A-player executives, it’s hard to even participate in the game of business because all the responsibility for each department lands on the shoulders of the CEO/owner. This leads to burnout and ultimately a failure to reach the full potential of the company and long-term valuation target. Today, Ryan breaks down why the middle market struggles to get access to top executive talent and how the fractional executive market is helping fix this problem. He then dives into the specifics of the fractional CFO services industry and the various types of offerings out there. Finally, Ryan interviews two owners who have a fractional CFO and what that has done for them and their businesses. // WATCH THE INTERVIEW ON YOUTUBE: Intentional Growth™ Podcast Fractional CFO Overview, Ryan Tansom // 01:00 Ryan goes in-depth about why the fractional CFO space exists and why it’s so crucial to the mid-market, and then he tee’s up the two 30-minute segments with Steve Schaffer and Jimmy Fritz. Why every business–regardless of the size–needs highly skilled talent overseeing each function but typically falls short. Why most companies can’t afford high-level executives even though they employ an outsized portion of the population. Why the fractional executive marketplace is growing rapidly. How a CFO helps a CEO run a company through the financial lens. Why doing EVERYTHING yourself leads to burnout. How the role of a CFO can help offload many operational responsibilities from a CEO. What it truly means to be a fractional executive. The different business models of fractional executive companies (and in more detail fractional CFO services). Owner of Schaffer Manufacturing, Steve Schaffer // 19:30 Steve Schaffer was born into his family business. Like many second-generation family business owners, he grew up working in the company. In 2008, he bought the business from his dad and took over the long-term family company. Like many first-time business owners, he thought he knew everything he needed to know about running the business. After some hard lessons, he realized the company was making no money and needed to make a change. After engaging with Arkona’s fractional CFO services, he has clarity on how to organize his cash so he can see where his company has been, where it’s going, and how close he is to the ultimate goal. In this episode, he talks about his 10-year process of starting confused, stressed, and unhappy, to now–when he is having fun, creating wealth, and going on 200-mi

Ep.#2 [THEME FOUR] Running a business is a lot like running a sports team. You need all the positions filled—ideally with the top talent—in order to even participate in the game. Many middle-market private companies are going without positions that are needed in order to participate in the game. So many lack the resources to find, hire, and maintain A-player executives who can fill each function (finance, sales, marketing, IT, HR, etc.). A-players completely take the responsibility for the department, come up with a long-term plan, and execute their strategic initiatives with accuracy against that plan because they have “been there and done that” before. Without A-player executives, it’s hard to even participate in the game of business because all the responsibility for each department lands on the shoulders of the CEO/owner. This leads to burnout and ultimately a failure to reach the full potential of the company and long-term valuation target. Today, Ryan breaks down why the middle market struggles to get access to top executive talent and how the fractional executive market is helping fix this problem. He then dives into the specifics of the fractional CFO services industry and the various types of offerings out there. Finally, Ryan interviews two owners who have a fractional CFO and what that has done for them and their businesses. // WATCH THE INTERVIEW ON YOUTUBE: Intentional Growth™ Podcast Fractional CFO Overview, Ryan Tansom // 01:00 Ryan goes in-depth about why the fractional CFO space exists and why it’s so crucial to the mid-market, and then he tee’s up the two 30-minute segments with Steve Schaffer and Jimmy Fritz. Why every business–regardless of the size–needs highly skilled talent overseeing each function but typically falls short. Why most companies can’t afford high-level executives even though they employ an outsized portion of the population. Why the fractional executive marketplace is growing rapidly. How a CFO helps a CEO run a company through the financial lens. Why doing EVERYTHING yourself leads to burnout. How the role of a CFO can help offload many operational responsibilities from a CEO. What it truly means to be a fractional executive. The different business models of fractional executive companies (and in more detail fractional CFO services). Owner of Schaffer Manufacturing, Steve Schaffer // 19:30 Steve Schaffer was born into his family business. Like many second-generation family business owners, he grew up working in the company. In 2008, he bought the business from his dad and took over the long-term family company. Like many first-time business owners, he thought he knew everything he needed to know about running the business. After some hard lessons, he realized the company was making no money and needed to make a change. After engaging with Arkona’s fractional CFO services, he has clarity on how to organize his cash so he can see where his company has been, where it’s going, and how close he is to the ultimate goal. In this episode, he talks about his 10-year process of starting confused, stressed, and unhappy, to now–when he is having fun, creating wealth, and going on 200-mi

Ep. #1 [THEME FOUR] Many owners (me included back when I was running the family business) often lumped anyone who works on numbers together in one big group and many times view that group as a cost center in the business. Have you ever heard yourself – or another business owner – say my “finance team” or “accounting people” are handling it? You may have also said or heard a statement like: “We just need to get paid, pay our vendors, and get our monthly results in so we can see how much cash we have so we can keep growing.” This shouldn’t surprise to most because many business owners did not have a tour of duty in Private Equity or work at a Big Four Accounting Firm prior to starting their business. Why should we expect any owner to understand how all the financial and accounting functions work, exactly what good looks like, and how all those functions roll up into a comprehensive financial forecast. This forecast should answer the only questions that matter: can we afford our growth, desired distributions, and taxes on the way towards the targeted equity valuation and timing? In order to view – and run – your company like a financial asset, it takes a team with a strategic financial leader (the CFO) to produce valuable information you feel comfortable making decisions and take action based on. On today’s show Arkona co-founders, Ryan Tansom and Pat Hobby, explain all the roles in the financial department and how each function is crucial in getting closer to your ultimate goal, taking it one month at a time. They break down the roles of bookkeeper, accountant (which he explains can be viewed as a totally separate department), controller and, of course, CFO. You will get very detailed insight on the role of each position and how the CFO plays into the equation After explaining each individual role, Pat puts all the pieces together and describes how the finance department can be the driving force for all the business owner's decisions and how the business owner can feel confident moving toward their long-term goal without worrying about whether they have the money to grow or not. // WATCH THE INTERVIEW ON YOUTUBE: Intentional Growth™ Podcast What You Will Learn How the CFO provides the current – and future – financial impact of the business owner’s goals and ideas and their impact on cash flow and the future value of a business. How the CFO is the missing link to finally take away the mental stress from the owner who mentally keeps track of the future financial impact of operational decisions in the business The difference between finance and accounting and why they are two very distinguishable departments. How to separate the roles of each internal finance team member (bookkeeper, CPA, controller, accountant, CFO). How to not GROW yourself out of bu

Ep. #1 [THEME FOUR] Many owners (me included back when I was running the family business) often lumped anyone who works on numbers together in one big group and many times view that group as a cost center in the business. Have you ever heard yourself – or another business owner – say my “finance team” or “accounting people” are handling it? You may have also said or heard a statement like: “We just need to get paid, pay our vendors, and get our monthly results in so we can see how much cash we have so we can keep growing.” This shouldn’t surprise to most because many business owners did not have a tour of duty in Private Equity or work at a Big Four Accounting Firm prior to starting their business. Why should we expect any owner to understand how all the financial and accounting functions work, exactly what good looks like, and how all those functions roll up into a comprehensive financial forecast. This forecast should answer the only questions that matter: can we afford our growth, desired distributions, and taxes on the way towards the targeted equity valuation and timing? In order to view – and run – your company like a financial asset, it takes a team with a strategic financial leader (the CFO) to produce valuable information you feel comfortable making decisions and take action based on. On today’s show Arkona co-founders, Ryan Tansom and Pat Hobby, explain all the roles in the financial department and how each function is crucial in getting closer to your ultimate goal, taking it one month at a time. They break down the roles of bookkeeper, accountant (which he explains can be viewed as a totally separate department), controller and, of course, CFO. You will get very detailed insight on the role of each position and how the CFO plays into the equation After explaining each individual role, Pat puts all the pieces together and describes how the finance department can be the driving force for all the business owner's decisions and how the business owner can feel confident moving toward their long-term goal without worrying about whether they have the money to grow or not. // WATCH THE INTERVIEW ON YOUTUBE: Intentional Growth™ Podcast What You Will Learn How the CFO provides the current – and future – financial impact of the business owner’s goals and ideas and their impact on cash flow and the future value of a business. How the CFO is the missing link to finally take away the mental stress from the owner who mentally keeps track of the future financial impact of operational decisions in the business The difference between finance and accounting and why they are two very distinguishable departments. How to separate the roles of each internal finance team member (bookkeeper, CPA, controller, accountant, CFO). How to not GROW yourself out of bu

Ep. #4 [THEME THREE] In this last episode of the series, “Demystifying Business Valuations,” we have Chris Yates, the owner of Rhodium Weekend, a community of online entrepreneurs, on the show to share the story of how he sold his business, Centurica. Chris received two offers from different buyers that were wildly different. In this episode, we hammer home the concept of intrinsic financial value vs. strategic transaction value by unpacking the differences in Chris’s offers. In the first half of this episode, Chris goes in-depth with the first offer he got from a strategic buyer–an Amazon aggregator–that wanted to do an “acquihire” (essentially wanting to purchase the company for the people and processes). Chris describes how the purpose of the deal drove the deal structure and terms and how it eventually blew the deal up. In the second half, Chris walks us through how he doubled down and focused on the intrinsic financial value of the company by getting a bank to pre-approve an SBA loan (ultimately determining the intrinsic financial value of the company based on the risk of the cash flow). Getting clear on the intrinsic financial valuation helped Chris during the second negotiation for a few reasons. First, he knew what his valuation was regardless of the specific buyer. Second, Chris was able to clearly negotiate the terms and deal structure efficiently because he knew what the company’s intrinsic value was worth. In addition, there are limitations to “creative” deal structures when an SBA is used. Being approached by a buyer can cause a rush of emotions for you as the business owner. However, in this series, we have consistently discussed how getting clarity on the intrinsic financial value is crucial so you can weigh all your options against what you know the company is worth. //WATCH THE INTERVIEW ON YOUTUBE: Intentional Growth™ Podcast What You Will Learn How to structure an LOI so a buyer can’t steal your clients, processes, and systems. Why Chris decided to exit even though he was getting fed opportunity from old and existing clients. What was driving the acquihire buyer to want Centurica so badly. How Chris got into the mind of the acquihire buyer to really understand why they wanted his company. Why understanding what he wanted and why helped Chris negotiate with a buyer that initially had an unappealing offer. How Chris realized that ALL of the decision makers need to be sitting at the deal table. The uncertainties Chris had in the first deal and why he wished he had set the terms instead of reacting to each offer (and pulled away at the beginning knowing it wouldn't work). Chris’s thought process after the first deal fell apa

Ep. #4 [THEME THREE] In this last episode of the series, “Demystifying Business Valuations,” we have Chris Yates, the owner of Rhodium Weekend, a community of online entrepreneurs, on the show to share the story of how he sold his business, Centurica. Chris received two offers from different buyers that were wildly different. In this episode, we hammer home the concept of intrinsic financial value vs. strategic transaction value by unpacking the differences in Chris’s offers. In the first half of this episode, Chris goes in-depth with the first offer he got from a strategic buyer–an Amazon aggregator–that wanted to do an “acquihire” (essentially wanting to purchase the company for the people and processes). Chris describes how the purpose of the deal drove the deal structure and terms and how it eventually blew the deal up. In the second half, Chris walks us through how he doubled down and focused on the intrinsic financial value of the company by getting a bank to pre-approve an SBA loan (ultimately determining the intrinsic financial value of the company based on the risk of the cash flow). Getting clear on the intrinsic financial valuation helped Chris during the second negotiation for a few reasons. First, he knew what his valuation was regardless of the specific buyer. Second, Chris was able to clearly negotiate the terms and deal structure efficiently because he knew what the company’s intrinsic value was worth. In addition, there are limitations to “creative” deal structures when an SBA is used. Being approached by a buyer can cause a rush of emotions for you as the business owner. However, in this series, we have consistently discussed how getting clarity on the intrinsic financial value is crucial so you can weigh all your options against what you know the company is worth. //WATCH THE INTERVIEW ON YOUTUBE: Intentional Growth™ Podcast What You Will Learn How to structure an LOI so a buyer can’t steal your clients, processes, and systems. Why Chris decided to exit even though he was getting fed opportunity from old and existing clients. What was driving the acquihire buyer to want Centurica so badly. How Chris got into the mind of the acquihire buyer to really understand why they wanted his company. Why understanding what he wanted and why helped Chris negotiate with a buyer that initially had an unappealing offer. How Chris realized that ALL of the decision makers need to be sitting at the deal table. The uncertainties Chris had in the first deal and why he wished he had set the terms instead of reacting to each offer (and pulled away at the beginning knowing it wouldn't work). Chris’s thought process after the first deal fell apa

Ep. #3 [THEME THREE] So far in this series, we’ve been demystifying business valuations by focusing on how a company is valued–as it stands today based on the risk of its cash flow–so you can view and run your company like a financial asset. By focusing on growing the intrinsic financial value–and how the net proceeds correlate to your timeline and ability to hit your financial targets–you will have choices in the future. With that context in mind, we’re now going to dive into what you can do to maximize your valuation and net proceeds if you want to sell your company to a third party (e.g., strategic buyer or private equity firm). Today’s show focuses on the strategic transaction value which is driven by the reasons buyers buy a company or as we call it “the purpose of the deal…” What happens if the current company financials are not the primary reason behind the buyer’s purpose of the deal? Every entrepreneur and business owner can tell one heck of a story–about the history and future potential of the company. And when it comes to a strategic buyer, we’ve barely ever met an owner who doesn’t know why a strategic buyer would buy their company and what they should do with it. Too often, during the sale to a third party, this story is left to “finance people” to show the numbers and explain the story. On today’s show we have Ted Schlueter and Eric Coonrod who have partnered up to solve this issue. They help companies maximize value to a third party buyer through “Branding for Buyout.” Ted helps companies market themselves by increasing the perceived value to a buyer through strategic branding with the target buyers in mind. Eric is an investment banker who focuses on the transactional value and deal structure side of a deal. We discuss how the story of a company can increase the purchase price of a business (branding), why past marketing data is a huge metric that buyers will look at when acquiring a company, and how successful (pilot) market penetration campaigns can open up opportunities to a buyer and increase desirability and the multiple of your business. Overall, this episode really clarifies how marketing and deal structures fit hand in hand and put more money in your pocket. //WATCH THE INTERVIEW ON YOUTUBE: Intentional Growth™ Podcast What You Will Learn What buyers look for in an acquisition and why they actually buy a company. Ways Ted and Eric figure out the “purpose of the deal” and why the buyer wants to buy the company and how to leverage that reason to increase the sale price. Why the role of marketing is so important when getting ready for a buyout. Ways to increase the intrinsic value using M&A trends

Ep. #3 [THEME THREE] So far in this series, we’ve been demystifying business valuations by focusing on how a company is valued–as it stands today based on the risk of its cash flow–so you can view and run your company like a financial asset. By focusing on growing the intrinsic financial value–and how the net proceeds correlate to your timeline and ability to hit your financial targets–you will have choices in the future. With that context in mind, we’re now going to dive into what you can do to maximize your valuation and net proceeds if you want to sell your company to a third party (e.g., strategic buyer or private equity firm). Today’s show focuses on the strategic transaction value which is driven by the reasons buyers buy a company or as we call it “the purpose of the deal…” What happens if the current company financials are not the primary reason behind the buyer’s purpose of the deal? Every entrepreneur and business owner can tell one heck of a story–about the history and future potential of the company. And when it comes to a strategic buyer, we’ve barely ever met an owner who doesn’t know why a strategic buyer would buy their company and what they should do with it. Too often, during the sale to a third party, this story is left to “finance people” to show the numbers and explain the story. On today’s show we have Ted Schlueter and Eric Coonrod who have partnered up to solve this issue. They help companies maximize value to a third party buyer through “Branding for Buyout.” Ted helps companies market themselves by increasing the perceived value to a buyer through strategic branding with the target buyers in mind. Eric is an investment banker who focuses on the transactional value and deal structure side of a deal. We discuss how the story of a company can increase the purchase price of a business (branding), why past marketing data is a huge metric that buyers will look at when acquiring a company, and how successful (pilot) market penetration campaigns can open up opportunities to a buyer and increase desirability and the multiple of your business. Overall, this episode really clarifies how marketing and deal structures fit hand in hand and put more money in your pocket. //WATCH THE INTERVIEW ON YOUTUBE: Intentional Growth™ Podcast What You Will Learn What buyers look for in an acquisition and why they actually buy a company. Ways Ted and Eric figure out the “purpose of the deal” and why the buyer wants to buy the company and how to leverage that reason to increase the sale price. Why the role of marketing is so important when getting ready for a buyout. Ways to increase the intrinsic value using M&A trends