Articles & Case Studies

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

A sudden death or disability is a tragedy we hope never to face. But planning for those tragedies is a necessary part of life. If we don’t, we leave behind a legacy of stress and confusion for those we care about most. If you own a business, a contingency plan is critical for the sake

It’s not easy to have the tough conversations. But as business owners, we need the courage to confront problems, particularly when we see something that goes against our core values. Failing to address issue areas can lead to dysfunction, toxic work environments, and weakened business value. In the world of mergers and acquisitions, tough conversations