Grow your business, make it run without you, exit on your terms
Posts for owners of $1–5M service businesses, one step at a time: Growth, Freedom: it runs without me, and Exit. Real work, and the frameworks behind it, credited.
Your business revenue goal is an enemy to your exit
A $20M company that wants to 5x, then sell. Those goals are enemies. Here's why revenue goals destroy exit value.
GrowthAn AI company won't put you under. An AI-augmented competitor will.
You don't need to become an AI company. You need to test AI in the processes you already have, before your competitors do.
GrowthThere are only 3 ways to grow your business
Every business grows through exactly three levers. Here's the 6-4-6 framework, and the math on growing 33%.
Growth3 simple cash flow fixes that help your business grow
Your pipeline is full but you can't take on new work because you're out of cash. Three fixes that close the gap.
ExitThe founder was proud that he handled all the big sales... until I told him it cut his exit value in half
He thought handling every big sale made his business valuable. It made it worth less. A lot less.
GrowthStop spending money on crap that won't grow your business
Business owners say they need capital to grow, then want to spend it on things that won't make them a single dollar.
ExitWhat if I told you there's a way to sell your business twice?
Sell most of your business now, keep a slice, and get paid again later. PE folks call this the second bite of the apple.
GrowthAI doesn't fix processes you never documented
Everyone on the internet seems like an AI expert. Every real business owner I talk to has tried it once and says it doesn't work. Here's why.
GrowthHow fast does your industry need to adopt AI?
The biggest AI mistake CEOs make isn't whether to implement it. It's misjudging the speed at which their industry is being transformed.
18 topics, six per step
- Find the one constraint
- Get more leads
- Let others bring leads
- Make an offer they can't refuse
- Close more
- Keep them
- Inventory your week
- Red, yellow, green
- Hand it off for good
- AI agents doing real work
- Get out of the marketing
- The stress test
- Income isn't net worth
- Customers who stay make it worth more
- Fix the problem worth the most
- Share the upside, keep the company
- Your exit options
- What a buyer checks