How Your Accounting Department May Hold Back Your Ability To Scale And Exit

by Scott Sylvan Bell | Aug 5, 2026 | Business Growth

Direct answer: Your accounting department can hold back scale and exit when it falls behind (3-6 months is common), when a family member accountant blocks help, or when books aren’t ready for a quality of earnings report. Fix it 2-5 years pre-exit. Filmed in...

How A Quality Of Earnings Report Exposes Your Personal Spending Habits

by Scott Sylvan Bell | Aug 4, 2026 | Business exit strategies

Direct answer: A quality of earnings report exposes personal expenses run through your business — fitness memberships, country clubs, family yacht clubs, cars, and excessive vacations. Buyers audit this during due diligence to determine what to add back to enhance...

Who Will Be The Person That Will Try To Sabotage Your Exit And Ruin Your Deal

by Scott Sylvan Bell | Aug 3, 2026 | Business exit strategies

Direct answer: Anyone can sabotage your exit — including you. The most common saboteurs are the business owner (through emotions and fear), attorneys who kill deals for sport, spouses, adult children, business associates, and vendors. Do a saboteur audit before...

Why You Want To Keep A Journal Of The Events When Exiting A Business

by Scott Sylvan Bell | Aug 2, 2026 | Business exit strategies

Direct answer: A business exit journal is one of the highest-value tools available to founders during and after the sale. Write weekly by hand for 20 minutes. Buy a leather-bound journal, not a yellow notepad. Provides emotional processing and closure at signing....

How You Could Use An NDA To Your Advantage In Your Business

by Scott Sylvan Bell | Aug 1, 2026 | Business Growth

Direct answer: An NDA business strategy gives you two key advantages: pre-planning capability for sensitive conversations and protection from employees spilling secrets that damage valuation. Have employees sign NDAs at onboarding covering financials, profits,...

What You Can Learn From The Market About Pay And Incentives

by Scott Sylvan Bell | Jul 31, 2026 | Business Growth

Direct answer: Pau Hana is a Hawaiian pay model where if the work is done right, employees get paid for all eight hours regardless of hours worked. It is returning to modern business as owners rethink pay and incentives for attracting top talent. Filmed in Sacramento,...

Why You Need A Thank You SOP Process For New Clients

by Scott Sylvan Bell | Jul 30, 2026 | Business Growth

Direct answer: Create a thank-you SOP where everyone who touches a client sends a signed thank-you card. Cost is $2.50 per card. Apply RFM marketing (recency, frequency, monetary) to add upsell offers. Prevents buyer’s remorse, generates referrals, and...

Should You Hire A Manager Or Grow A Manager For Your Business

by Scott Sylvan Bell | Jul 29, 2026 | Business Growth

Direct answer: Whether to hire or grow a manager depends on your exit timeline. Growing internally builds loyalty but takes 6 months to 2 years. Hiring externally gets you immediate speed but requires interviewing 5-6 candidates against real business scenarios...

Should You Hire Top Talent When You Find It In The Marketplace

by Scott Sylvan Bell | Jul 28, 2026 | Business Growth

Direct answer: Should you hire top talent when you find them on the market? Yes, if they bring 10x their salary to bottom-line profit. Use phantom equity tranches, sign your accounting team to an NDA, and have honest upfront conversations about limitations. Filmed in...

This Common Frustration From Consulting Can Hold You Back

by Scott Sylvan Bell | Jul 27, 2026 | Business Selling Psychology

Direct answer: Consulting frustration is real when you shift from being the expert to being the client. You know your industry cold. Now you take advice instead of giving it. Reconcile what you know with what the advisor knows — get multiple opinions. Filmed in...