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Can You Be Making Too Much Money?

Adam (not his real name) is an easy-going hard charger. Yes, that sounds like an oxymoron, but Adam is the kind of business owner who looks like a duck floating smoothly, but he’s paddling like crazy below the waterline. He is a second-generation owner, he took over a business his dad started and made it much better. But, the pandemic of 2020 hit Adam very hard. His business was not considered “essential,” so he was Read More

The Strategic Value of Overpaying ….Say What?

Morgan (not his real name) is going to have a nice exit from his business in about five years. Over the past four years, he has grown his company from annual revenue of $12 million to annual revenue of $35 million. About half of that growth has been organic, the other half has come through the acquisition of supporting businesses. What’s particularly cool about Morgan’s story is how thoughtful and intentional he has Read More

Beware the Valuation Mirage

I’m glad I never had to compete against Randy (not his real name). He is one tough bird. Introduced to him by his wealth planner, I am working with Randy to sell his company to a competitor who is in an aggressive consolidation mode. But before we could make much progress, I had to get some bad information out of Randy’s head. In fairness to Randy, it’s common that a business owner comes into the process to sell Read More

What You Think is Just Luck

Much can be said about how crazy 2020 was. No need to belabor it again here, you’ve heard it all before. But my conversation with Elaine (not her real name) gave rise to a whole new level of crazy about 2020. No, I am not saying Elaine is crazy, quite the opposite. She owns a highly regarded professional services firm near my hometown. We were talking over the holidays about her plan to sell her business in 2021. She Read More

Can You Afford to Watch It Go Up in Smoke?

Covid has wrecked his business. Paul (not his real name) owns a company that is a leading player in Nashville's trendy food scene. As everyone knows, the restaurant sector has been decimated by pandemic-driven shutdowns. To raise cash, Paul asked me to help him sell a minority interest he owns in a business in Texas. Paul was hoping the proceeds from selling that minority interest could be reinvested back into his Read More

Balancing Risk and Reward

I met Wayne (not his real name) through an introduction from his financial planner. Wayne owns a successful business in Mississippi that he had taken over after his dad's death nine years ago. Long hours and employee management issues were taking a toll on him and resultantly, his family. In early 2020, he promised his wife he’d consider selling his business. Wayne started the process by asking his Memphis-based Read More

Don’t Expect an Outlier Valuation

Frank and Wanda (not their real names) are avid golfers. Members at one of Nashville’s finest country clubs, they play at least once a week. They even take an annual golf vacation, sometimes to the home of golf in Scotland. I recently met Frank and Wanda via a Zoom call on the recommendation of their wealth planner. They are interested in selling the company they started in the late ‘90s. They told me they decided Read More

One Thoughtless Comment, Say Goodbye to $35 Million

Don (not his real name) was smart, but his errant comment cost him $35 million. In just 12 years, he had built his company to be the largest in his industry. Don was a rock star, and his company’s future was bright. But Don had taken the company as far as he wanted to take it. Though just 44 years old, he was ready to sell the company and realize his life’s ambition to play golf on six continents (did you know, Read More

Avoid No-Man’s Land

A few months ago I watched the movie “1917.” It tells a true story about the audacious heroism of a British soldier during World War I. Beyond being a great story, the filming was incredible. There were times I felt I was the guy in the muddy trenches. There is much to learn from this wonderful movie, not the least of which is war is awful and should be avoided at all costs. But there is another lesson that has Read More

Success in Corporate Life May Not Transfer

“It’s time for me to leave, I can’t take one more HR seminar, help me find a business to buy.”  So started my relationship with Andy (not his real name), a senior-level executive at a publicly traded healthcare company in Nashville.  “I like my corporate job OK, but it’s corporate life I’m not happy with,” he told me over lunch. “I’m ready for a change, I want to be an entrepreneur,” Andy said even before the waiter Read More