April 18, 2025
Plan for Your Buyer Not Yourself
A business owner wrote me about pages 84-85 in our new book, Exit With Style, Grace, and More Money, saying he loved the message about…
April 14, 2025
Where There’s Uncertainty There’s Opportunity
It’s spring 2025 and does anybody really know what’s going on? Consider the following business turmoil’s if you will: Tariffs – threats, on, off, on,…
April 11, 2025
The Need for Adult Supervision Never Ends
Preface – while in Antigua on our service project a local Rotarian recommended some restaurants to us (her firm grows hydroponic greens, so she knows…
March 6, 2025
Are Your Earnings Quality?
What’s become popular in the buy-sell/M&A world is a Quality of Earnings (QofE) report. It’s a deep dive into the financial statements to see if…
February 27, 2025
Non-Disclosure Means…
It means you keep your mouth shut, which is what someone didn’t do. Luckily they blurted it out to somebody who knows to keep quiet.…
February 20, 2025
When There’s a Process…
It’s tough to write anything without mentioning the horrific fires in the Los Angeles area. It shows how we can be blindsided at any time.…
February 10, 2025
Succession? What Succession (Plan)?
The headline was, “Sam Adams Brews Succession Plan (WSJ, December 26, 2024). Founder Jim Koch wisecracked for years that his succession plan was, “Don’t die.”…
January 16, 2025
Stories Sell
This is a real-life story. A business owner is ready to sell and exit. He’s received numerous inquiries from others in his industry, has talked…
January 3, 2025
How to Get the Deal Done
We recently held the Getting the Deal Done Breakfast Conference, which started 15 years ago. Some things never change, as in, ~200 RSVPs, 20-25% no-shows,…
December 19, 2024
The Right and Wrong Way
This memo is out on election day so let’s tie together a few things. A recent article highlighted how companies are clamping down and even…