Articles & Case Studies

As a general rule, no one customer should account for more than 20 to 25 percent of your company revenue. While having large customers can be good for your bottom line, it introduces risk to the next owner. As you build your business, pay attention to what a future buyer will want. They’re looking for […]

By any account, 2018 was a good year for M&A, continuing one of the longest seller markets in modern history. We expect that momentum to carry well into 2019. Deal activity is being driven by a number of factors, including record amounts of dry powder, a positive lending environment, and interest rates that, while rising,

In the current talent environment, it can be difficult to grow a business. According to one recent NFIB jobs report, 60 percent of business owners reported hiring, but 88 percent couldn’t find qualified applicants for the job. Instead of hiring the talent you need to fuel organic growth, acquisition can be another way to expand.

Rising interest rates aren’t going to put a damper on M&A activity, at least not for now. But buyers understand that each new rate hike is a small hit against their overall return. On the sell side, 48 percent of business brokers and advisors predict that rising interest rates will have a negative impact on

The number one reason businesses don’t sell is unrealistic value expectations. That’s according to the Market Pulse report, a quarterly M&A survey by Pepperdine University’s Graziadio School of Business and Management, International Business Brokers Association (IBBA), and M&A Source. Unrealistic seller expectations has been the leading reason deals fail to close since we started the

“Lower middle market too hot to touch,” “M&A flies high,” “M&A activity speaks to confidence of CEOs.” These are the kind of headlines that have been dominating my news feeds lately. I’m sure you’ve seen something similar popping up in your own industry news sources. It’s not an exaggeration. In my 20 years in the

\”Professionals have coaches; amateurs don\’t.\” I heard this at a conference recently, and the idea stuck with me. We know that professional athletes continue to work with coaches throughout their careers, and not just their head coach, but targeted coaches for their specialty. Michael Jordan had a shooting coach even though he was one of

The lower middle market is seeing a growing trend toward pre-due diligence. Traditionally, when you take your company to market, you work with interested buyers, negotiate to a signed letter of intent, and then work with the buyer’s team through due diligence. At that point the buyer is looking for potential liabilities and risks and

For many business owners, selling their business is a highly emotional separation. Recently, I heard one business owner likened the experience to getting a divorce. She was the original founder of her company, building it from ground up to a small, multimillion dollar operation. But by year 10, she felt burned out. She was tired