Finish Strong: Sell your Business On Your Terms

By Bushkie

You spent years building your business and fulfilling your vision. Now, Scott Bushkie provides sound advice and concrete steps so you can Finish Strong and exit your business on your own terms. This book includes more than two decades of insight, success stories, and completely avoidable mistakes he's seen business owners make as they transition

• Language: English
• Publisher: Scott Bushkie
• Release date: Sep 8, 2021
• ISBN: 9781737811343

Book preview

Finish Strong

Finish Strong

Sell Your Business On Your Terms

Scott Bushkie

Copyright © 2021 – by Scott Bushkie

All rights reserved. This book is protected by the copyright laws of the United States of America. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means—electronic or mechanical—including photocopying, recording, scanning, or otherwise, except as permitted under Section 107 or 108 of the 1967 United States Copyright Act, without the prior written permission of the author. Requests to the author for permission to use should be addressed to [e-mail].

Mention of specific companies, organizations, or authorities in this book does not imply endorsement by the author or publisher, nor does mention of specific companies, organizations, or authorities imply that they endorse this book, its author, or the publisher. All trademarks are the property of their respective companies. Internet addresses and telephone numbers given in this book were accurate at the time it went to press.

Limit of Liability/Disclaimer of Warranty: While the author has used his best efforts in preparing this book, he makes no representations or warranties with respect to the accuracy or completeness of the contents of this book and specifically disclaims any implied warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose. No warranty may be created or extended by sales representatives or written sales materials. The advice and strategies contained herein may not be suitable for your situation. You should consult with a professional where appropriate. The author shall not be liable for any loss of profit or any other commercial damages, including but not limited to: special, incidental, consequential, or other damages. The author’s results and the author’s clients’ results are not typical, and the author is not suggesting or implying readers will duplicate these results. Most people who buy any how to information get little-to-no results, especially when they aren’t willing to consistently follow the suggested strategies and work hard. All successful businesses incur risks and require persistence and action. If the reader is not willing to accept this, please do not purchase this book.

For general information about our products or services, please visit our website at https://www.cornerstone-business.com/, or contact the author at [e-mail].

Library of Congress Number:

Publishers Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Finish Strong: Sell Your Business On Your Terms; by Scott Bushkie

192 pages cm.

ISBN Paperback: 978-1-7378113-0-5

ISBN ePUB: 978-1-7378113-4-3

ISBN Hardcover: 978-1-7378113-1-2

ISBN Workbook: 978-1-7378113-2-9

ISBN Workbook Epub: 978-1-7378113-3-6

Printed in the United States of America

Dedication

I would like to dedicate this book to all the business owners I have met over the last 20 years. Each of you trusted me with your baby and I never took that lightly. I have met so many amazing people with great stories, it was easy to find this was my passion early in life.

I would like to thank all of our referral partners—the trusted advisor to the business owner.

I would also like to thank all the members and staff at the M&A Source, IBBA, and MBBI. If not for these amazing organizations and all the volunteers and staff, I doubt the kid who entered the market at 24 years old would still be in it. The roughly 100 association conferences I’ve attended over the years are the key reason I can write this book. I have learned so much from so many, it would be impossible to name all the names. You know who you are, and I will be forever grateful.

To the team at Cornerstone: Because of you and your commitment, Cornerstone truly does live out its mission to create positive, life-changing events for each of our clients. I value your energy and your insight more than you know.

And to my parents: Mom, you always pushed me and showed me that hard work can pay off if you are focused and committed. Dad, you taught me work ethic through sports, and I will never forget the days of you coaching me. You were tough but always made it fun. You also taught me, unfortunately, how precious life really is and to make sure you live it to the fullest each and every day as you left this world way too early at the age of 67.

Finally, I would like to thank my wife Cassie and three children, Emily, Drew, and Aubrey, as my work can sometimes take me away from you for short periods of time. Know that I do what I do because of my passion for making a positive difference in peoples’ lives and to make a better life for our family. Each of you make me so proud, and I pray you each find your own passion as you continue down this journey called life. I love you all more than you know.

There is no passion to be found playing small—in settling for a life that is less than the one you are capable of living. - Nelson Mandela

Table of Contents

Introduction

Chapter 1: Is It Time to Have The Conversation™?

Chapter 2: What’s Most Important to You?

Chapter 3: You Have More Options Than You Know

Chapter 4: Transitioning to Family or Management

Chapter 5: When to Sell (and When Not To)

Chapter 6: How to Avoid Seller’s Remorse

Chapter 7: Not All Buyers Are Created Equal

Chapter 8: How to Build Value Prior to Sale

Chapter 9: Next Steps

About Cornerstone Business Services

Key Takeaways Recap

Glossary

About the Author

Acknowledgments

I would like to acknowledge the many people who helped make this book a reality.

First, Jaime, you have been my voice on endless newspaper and magazine articles, case studies, white papers, etc. It’s only fitting that you would be my right-hand person to put my words down on paper for this book. Thank you for being a key partner in helping me try to educate folks on all things M&A for almost 20 years. I could not have done this without you.

Dennis, Marti and team: It was because of you and your insight that I finally took all of my thoughts and turned them into what you see here today. If not for you, my thoughts and ideas may still be spread between hundreds of different articles. You gave us the framework to put it all together.

Bob, Sara, Jim, Jason, Ross, Erica, and John: Thank you for spending the time to read the first draft and give me feedback. Your years of experience and input made it that much better.

Introduction

When I meet a business owner, I see pride. I see the years of hard work and ingenuity you’ve put into your business. I see how you’ve built a profitable company that supports your family, employs people, and meets a real market need. I see risk, passion, and perseverance.

Naturally, when you think about selling or transferring your business, you want to get full value for it. You want to reap the rewards of your labor. And you should!

The reality, is that many business owners won’t be able to sell their business when they’re ready. Why? Because they didn’t take the critical steps to prepare for that transition. Here’s what many business owners find out instead:

● The business isn’t really salable.

● A sale won’t fund their retirement goals.

● The people they intended to transition the business to either don’t want it or can’t afford it.

Industry studies consistently show that most business owners spend little to no time planning to exit their business—even though most of them have 80-90% of their financial wealth locked in their business.¹ Some estimates suggest only 20-30% of businesses that go to market will actually sell.²

The problem isn’t a lack of buyers. There have been more buyers than sellers for