Trusted Guidance for Business Owners and Buyers

In this #PoisedforExit episode, we met with someone who has found great success in owning a number of different franchises and living a life he loves at the same time.

Succession planning is a strategy for passing on leadership roles-often the ownership of a company-to an employee or group of employees. This ensures the businesses continue to run smoothly after a company's most important people move on to new opportunities, retire, or pass away. Here are Three Keys to Succession Planning for a Family-Owned Business, written by Live Oak Bank. 

Our guest in this #PoisedforExit episode featured Leslie Holman, CEO of Pinnacle Performance Group. Leslie bought Pinnacle in 2012 and has since expanded into providing services that help owners execute their growth strategies. 

The number of female-owned businesses in the United States has seen huge growth, however, female entrepreneurs still don’t claim a large portion of the total employment and revenue share.

Thinking about selling your business? Check out these insights from an actual Seller. Click here to read more.

On this #PoisedforExit episode Julie had the pleasure of interviewing Mark LeBlanc and it’s loaded with nuggets of wisdom and action steps! Mark is a national speaker and author. He also consults for professional salespeople. He’s had many years to perfect his process for his clients and his presentations are more than impactful.

Exit planning is essential. Even though a plan may not be used for years or decades, developing one benefits business owners in multiple ways. Read more here.

Financial statements show you where a company’s money came from, where it went, and where it is now. Understanding a company’s financial statements is an important step in evaluating the business.

Check out these 3 key aspects to Smart Exit Planning by BizBuySell here.

Today on #PoisedforExit we interviewed Cat Breet, Chief Stripe Changer, whose mission is to help people get more freedom, fun and money out of work! Cat’s work brings her into board rooms, executive offices and group coaching sessions where she works to help her clients “find their fire“.

Our guest for this #PoisedforExit episode has a long history in manufacturing, as an owner and now as the President of Minnesota Precision Manufacturing Association. Steve Kalina and I had a great conversation about what his organization specifically does to help manufacturer’s grow, educate their teams, retain talent and plan for transition. 

Today’s #PoisedforExit episode featured pricing expert, radio host and speaker, John Ray. John’s expertise in how to price your services is far reaching, and we only touched on the tip of the iceberg with this episode, but you’re sure to glean some valuable nuggets from this interview just the same!

Even if you don’t plan on transitioning out of your business for years, having a comprehensive plan in place gives you peace of mind, knowing that your business, your future, and your family’s future are secure. Read more here.

Today’s episode on #PoisedforExit is a special interview between Brad Peterson of Sunbelt Business Advisors and his clients, Janet and Keith McCarty, who recently sold their business called “Virtual Bookkeeping“. 

Targeting the right buyers in the beginning stages of the sales process is essential to a deal's eventual success. Read more here.

Regardless of your business type, you’re likely to need financial support to sustain your operations at some point. This means you’ll need to approach different lenders for a business loan to supplement your working capital. Read this post from SCORE to help you know and understand some of the typical small business loan requirements and conditions you will most likely need to meet. Read more here.

On today’s episode of #PoisedforExit, we interviewed my long-time colleague, Dyanne Ross Hanson. Dyanne is a CEPA like me and specializes in working with families looking to transfer to other family members or employees. She has a process that is worth learning!

Middle market business buyers are faced with many considerations when preparing to buy a business. The Small Business Administration (SBA) guarantees bank loans to small businesses that meet the SBA’s criteria. Read on to see how Live Oak Bank wants to help you prepare for your next business acquisition. Read more here.

#PoisedforExit guests featured JB Lloyd and Jill Petschl of Oasis. With the abounding matters that business owners deal with everyday, HR matters are at the top of the list. Oasis publishes an annual survey of business owner responses to various questions about owning and operating in today’s business environment. In this way, they keep a pulse on what’s happening with their clients and can modify or add services as necessary and needed. 

M&A is a powerful strategy that companies have been using for many decades. Read on to learn what Eric Allison, Managing Partner of Golden One Ventures, wrote for the SCORE resource library here.

In this episode, Julie was interviewed by her producer, Bob Sansevere and announced the launch of the 2nd edition of “Poised for Exit“!

One might think that calculating net working capital is a relatively simple exercise - Avoid additional costs and strained relationships, by taking care to avoid these 10 common mistakes. Read more.

Business buyers should bring a fair offer to the table while still being within their means. Brian Knoderer from Sunbelt authored this article to give guidance on how to make an offer

On this episode of #PoisedforExit, we featured the founder and president of National Theatre for Children, who happen to be former clients of mine and friends as well. Ward Eames, Founder of NTC and Pat Rowan, President of NTC shared the story of how NTC came to be and how they were able to so nimbly pivot after the onset of the pandemic. 

Selling a business is a multi-step process, and proper planning is necessary to maximize potential returns. Here are five things from the US Chamber of Commerce that a seller should know before getting started. Click here to read more.

Julie had the pleasure of talking with Dave Pederson in this #PoisedforExit episode, who is a partner with Dunlap Seeger Law Firm in Rochester, MN. Dave’s background in business finance and law brought him to a place where structuring deals was part of his job when working for a large commercial lender in Chicago. Fast forward to today, he’s been practicing in Rochester since 2006, advising on M& A deals, Estate Planning and even Commercial Real Estate. As Dave said, these three areas naturally intersect, and he spends all of his time between them for his business owner clients. 

In this #PoisedforExit episode I had the distinct honor of interviewing Ben Utecht, who’s not only a Super Bowl Champion with the Indianapolis Colts, but also a winner of the Tony Dungy Award for Servant Leadership and now works as Chief Culture Officer for several mid-size firms, including my sponsor, Sunbelt Business Advisors and True North M & A. 

This week on #PoisedforExit, we caught up with Melissa Johnston, Co-Founder and Chief Credit Officer of EntreBank, a brand-new community bank, located in the Twin Cities. When we last interviewed her, EntreBank did not have an official name yet and their founders were working through the approval process with the appropriate governing bodies, which she will tell you was quite grueling. But that was then, and this is now!

Craig Siiro, CEO and Founder of Integrated Consulting Services, got his start in the 1980’s as a CPA working for a Tax and Audit firm. He spent a lot of time with entrepreneurs and learned that he really liked the advisory side of the business. Fast forward to 2010, when Craig launched Integrated Consulting Services or ICS, who provides fractional CFO work for owners of privately held companies. In the spring of 2020, he added Cathy Sedacca as its Managing Director, and over the past few years the company has grown significantly. 

In this #poisedforexit episode, we caught up with Aleesha Webb, President of Village Bank. Aleesha has been on the show a couple of times in the past and always has great insight to share with you, our business owner audience, and this time was no exception. 

Today’s episode of #PoisedForExit featured Bruce Werner, author, private equity investor and family business advisor. Bruce and I met through our book publisher “Indie Books International” a couple years ago. Bruce recently published “Your Ownership Journey” that highlights his expertise in scaling your business during various stages of growth, ending the book with exit planning advice. 

For the 100th Episode of #PoisedForExit, Lisa Meyer, advisor with Sunbelt, was invited to interview a client of hers, whose growth strategy has been to acquire other companies in his industry. He’s got a system for that, and a strategy that works. 

In our #PoisedForExit episode today, we featured Jason Early, President of BizEquity, which is a software service that advisers use for valuing a privately held company. If valuation has been on your mind, this episode is for you!

Today’s episode of #PoisedForExit featured Chris Steffl and Daniel Metcalf, partners at Cyberfin, a firm who offers complete Cybersecurity protection for small to middle market companies across the globe. 

Our guest for this episode featured Nike Anani, Founder of African Family Firms, which is a non-profit community of family business owners of African descent from around the globe. Nike’ got her start as a member of her own family’s construction firm when she lived in Nigeria. Born there, but raised and educated in the UK, she went back to work in the family business with her father in Nigeria and eventually helped the family plan their own succession. This led to her work with other family businesses. 

In today’s episode of #PoisedForExit featured Alec Broadfoot, CEO of Vision Spark, a consulting firm that specializes in selecting and placing leaders for strategic growth. 

In today’s episode we interviewed Scott Plum, Founder and President of MN Sales Institute. Scott is a two-time author, podcaster and sales training expert. He shared some really great advice today.

Our guest today featured Henry DeVries, publisher and owner of Indie Books International. Henry’s firm published my book “Poised for Exit” two years ago already. Henry founded Indie Books after helping 50 people write their own book, finding it as a calling to continue the work. Fast forward, he’s published 150 authors and helps each one “write the right book”. Writing the right book for your audience is one of Henry’s many unique strengths; I can attest to it having worked with him. 

Our #PoisedforExit show today featured Tim Olson, Business Development professional at Honour Capital. Tim’s background in equipment sales uniquely positioned him as a great fit for the typical client at Honour Capital, a firm getting its start just after the pandemic hit, but whose growth has seen quite a trajectory! 

The odds of needing Long Term Care as we age is much higher than we think and having a Disability Policy is not enough anymore. What if you had a car accident and couldn’t work for a while? What if your spouse had to quit working to care for you ? Where does the money come from? Disability covers some expenses, but you just tripled your monthly outgoing and there’s no more paycheck. Stacking LTC to your Disability ensures you’ll get the care you need and the financial assistance to keep your bills paid and food on the table until you’re back on your feet!

Today on #PoisedforExit we featured Brian Slipka, CEO, founder and acquirer of numerous companies in various industries, with a common foundational thread: “help people and success will follow”. 

Improving your financials, systems, customer balance, and management team can significantly increase your business value before exit.

Tax impact of stock vs. asset sales and shares strategies to reduce or eliminate taxes when selling a business.

The episode shares how to choose and prepare a successor while navigating the emotional side of stepping away.