Practical views on valuing, selling and structuring the sale of an advice firm, from Brian Swanson.
A buyer's multiple answers three questions: how much of your earnings survive the transition, whether growth depends on the founder, and how exposed the firm is to key person risk.
Read the article → ProcessSeven stages from preparation to completion, and where leverage shifts from seller to buyer along the way.
Read the article → Deal structureWhy the multiple is the least important part of the equation, and how cash, deferred consideration, earn-outs and equity rollover decide what you actually receive.
Read the article → Due diligenceThe four workstreams, the question behind each request, how buyers respond when diligence finds something, and where deals in this market come apart.
Read the article →The number you would quote at a conference and the number a buyer will underwrite after due diligence are often not the same. The gap between them is the single biggest reason deals fall apart or close below expectations, and it is almost always avoidable if you see it early enough.
This is ten chapters on what actually moves the number, written from what Brian has seen across twenty years on every side of the deal. No fluff, and nothing sold to you at the end of each chapter. It is a free download.
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