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....
by Scott Sylvan Bell | Jul 20, 2026 | Business exit strategies
Direct answer: Here are five red flags to fire your M&A advisor mid-deal: consistently missed timelines, defensiveness when questioned, favoring speed of close over quality of close, disappearing during due diligence, and the buyer’s team liking your advisor...
by Scott Sylvan Bell | Jul 19, 2026 | Business exit strategies
Direct answer: The first 90 days after selling your business bring seven predictable problems: buyer decisions you disagree with, calls from former employees, undocumented consulting expectations, tax bills arriving in tranches, magic offers from strangers, family...
by Scott Sylvan Bell | Jul 13, 2026 | Business exit strategies
Direct answer: Your first buyer is rarely your best buyer. Running a mini-auction with 3-5 qualified buyers can shift the final sale price by 10-30%. Multiple competing offers create urgency dynamics that soften LOI pressure and let you cherry-pick terms across...
by Scott Sylvan Bell | Jul 11, 2026 | Business exit strategies
Direct answer: A $10 million business sale rarely puts $10 million in your bank account. After legal fees, CPA fees, working capital adjustments, holdbacks, earn-outs, federal capital gains tax, and state income tax, the realistic net for most sellers is $6.5-$7...
by Scott Sylvan Bell | Jul 9, 2026 | Business exit strategies
Direct answer: Key personnel risk means someone on your team who cannot leave without operations collapsing. Rate each person on operational criticality (1-5) and knowledge portability (1-5). Do this audit 24-60 months before exit — not 90 days before the buyer shows...
