22: Prepare a Business for Transition with Laurie Barkman
Laurie Barkman is a “business transition sherpa.” With her firm, SmallDotBig, she advises owners on having more valuable, sellable businesses. And as a Partner with Stony Hill Advisors, a mergers and acquisitions firm, she guides them through the complex process of letting it go. She joins host Nana Bonsu this week on Build Value by Choice to give you advice on preparing your business for transition.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
80% of business owners want to stop working in their business in the next 5-10 years, but most have not planned for that transition. Many need to improve the business first.
If your business has a lot of risks, it makes it a less attractive prospect and will be harder to transition.
The earlier you make the decision to work towards transitioning the business, the more time you have. Having more time means you have more options. More options means you can find more value. And value doesn’t have to be the highest offer, the right offer for you might not be the highest one.
You can create different exit options depending on your goals. For example the paths of passing your business down the family line is very different to a management buyout.
Financial buyers are long-term investors interested in the return that they can get by buying a well-managed company and looking to generate cash flow by boosting revenue, cutting costs, or creating economies of scale by buying similar companies. Strategic buyers are often bigger companies that are well capitalized, able to spend more, and less focused on whether a company can generate quick cash flow. The strategic buyers tend to pay more than financial buyers.
BEST MOMENTS
‘When you have time on your side, you ultimately have more options’
‘I was selling my business but I was also selling myself’
‘You only get one change to land a plane on the Hudson’
‘3/4s of owners have regrets 1 year after their exit’
EPISODE RESOURCES
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ABOUT THE GUEST
Laurie Barkman is a “business transition sherpa.” With her firm, SmallDotBig, she advises owners on having more valuable, sellable businesses. And as a Partner with Stony Hill Advisors, a mergers and acquisitions firm, she guides them through the complex process of letting it go.
Laurie is the former CEO of a $100 million revenue company with an exit to a Fortune 50 company. With more than 25 years of C-Suite and award-winning marketing expertise, she provides actionable perspectives to drive sustainable value.
Engaging audiences across the US, Laurie is an Adjunct Professor of Entrepreneurship at Carnegie Mellon University, leads executive workshops with Vistage, and hosts a weekly podcast called Succession Stories.
Laurie earned an MBA from Carnegie Mellon University and BISILR from Cornell University. She is a Certified M&A Advisor and Certified Value Builder giving her the knowledge to expertly represent clients and coach them how to maximize the value of their business.
PODCAST DESCRIPTION
Hosted by Nana Bonsu of Infinite Horizons, this show aims to serve small business owners who want to grow their businesses while reducing their own personal involvement. We do this through a combination of interviews with industry leaders, and host presentations. We are certified value builder advisors and leverage a statistically proven methodology to help clients such as you scale or transition their business to the next chapter.
We care for our listeners and see their dreams as our own. We aim to foster a community that embraces freedom, generosity, and integrity. This is a show by entrepreneurs and business owners for entrepreneurs and business owners.
ABOUT THE HOST
Nana Bonsu:
“I am an entrepreneur and ex-Corporate Executive who’s applying his experience and knowledge from working in various ways to pursue my passion of helping small business owners increase their choices in life by leveraging my knowledge and experience, their employees, systems and money. I help small business owners transform their business and increase value through action-oriented education and implementation of strategies and tactics to make their business sellable even if they are not planning on selling. Known for establishing an environment for personal growth and development. My multicultural background equips me with the intuitive understanding of different cultures and how they impact business owners.”
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