M&A Resources

We created the most comprehensive mergers and acquisitions resources library.

How to make the most of our Resources with Founder & Lead Advisor, Scott Duke

Upcoming Webinar

Preparing an Excavation Company for Transition

Join us for an informative session to prepare your business for sale to a strategic buyer. Learn about the business sale process, transaction types, and how to improve your company’s value upon sale – even if you’re years away from selling.

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Podcasts

Tune into Scott’s latest podcast appearances where he shares his entrepreneurial and M&A experience for listeners from around the world.

Navigating Business Transition & Building Sellable Assets with Ron Skelton

Apr 28, 2023

In this episode, Scott sits down with Ron Skelton from the How2Exit podcast to share some tips on how to successfully navigate a business sale transition. The How2Exit podcast interviews industry leaders, authors, business owners, M&A experts and other influencers...

Why Become an Entrepreneur with Robert Szmigiel

Dec 6, 2022

Scott joins Canada's Podcast host Robert Szmigiel to shine some light on his entrepreneurial journey. Amongst many topics, the two discuss why people become entrepreneurs and how to sell a business for $20 million. Canada’s Podcast was created out of a need to build a...

Avoiding the Owner’s Trap with Chris Goodman

Oct 20, 2022

Scott Duke has founded 11 companies during his entrepreneurial journey; from fleece clothing to a hot-dog stand to a property management firm. All of Scott’s experiences taught him the value of building transferability into a business so that one day, when you’re...

Preparing Your Business for Acquisition with Jason Hunt

Oct 3, 2022

This podcast goes over how to properly prepare your business for sale. We cover what you need to get in order in terms of selling your business. We’ll also discuss how to go about selling your company, and the changing dynamics you need if selling your business for a...

“10X” Exit Plan Summit with Patrick Ennis

Sep 28, 2022

An interview with Scott hosted by a fellow speaker at the 2021 "10X" Exit Planning Summit, Patrick Ennis.

Business Owner’s

Saleability Checklist

A complimentary, one-page road map for you to think about when selling your business. Decades of OpnRoad experience and transactions, all in one clear document to help you get started.

Download Checklist

Business Sale Accelerator

As a valued podcast listener, we are offering an exclusive discount for our Business Sale Accelerator course (as offered by our subsidiary and learning arm, Gateway Capital).

Course Overview

Sale Process

Step 1: Set Objectives

Knowing what a perfect exit looks like for you, your shareholders, your family, and other stakeholders is the first and most crucial step toward a successful exit. Owners need to have a clear vision of what makes their exit a success and define how the sale drives purpose for their next stage in life.

Step 2: Valuation

Know precisely what your business is worth in today’s market and where the value comes from in the eyes of a buyer. When your business’s value drivers are identified, only then can they be leveraged during negotiation.

Step 3: Risk Analysis

Determine if your business is salable, and if it will make it through a buyer’s due diligence process.

Step 4: Marketing

Create your Blind Profile (teaser), Financial Overview (normalized financial statements), CIM (Confidential Information Memorandum). Confidentially market business to your network, or leverage our marketing system to put your opportunity in front of 10,000+ active buyers.

Step 5: Negotiation

Navigate the bidding process, LOIs (Letter Of Intent), and negotiation to maximize the sale price.

Step 6: Closing Activities

Navigate legal documents and the transition of all tangible, and intangible assets.

Top 5 Deal Killers

Profitability

If a business’s normalized earnings are under $100K, it creates challenges for a sale because there is not enough free cash flow to pay the new owner’s salary and service the debt from financing the purchase.

Role-Identity Fusion

In many instances, businesses are unsellable because the owner has tied their identity, social well-being, and life’s purpose to the creation and operation of the business.

Subconsciously, they feel as if a part of them is dying when selling their business. This subconscious thought prohibits the owner from signing the sale document, and they walk away from their own successful sale agreement.

Owner Dependence

An owner is deemed dependent usually when being involved in the business for more than ten hours per week. Some owners can quickly resolve this issue by delegating work to a General Manager. Others have difficulty transferring power and are forced to stay for 2-3 years post-sale to train a new manager for the buyer.

Sometimes, the owner’s skill set is not transferable, making the business unsellable.

Customer Concentration

If a single customer represents more than 15% of gross revenue, most buyers will not move forward with the purchase. There are more variables to be considered of course, including industry standards and the quality of the customer.

As investment banker Rob Slee states, “the company is one phone call away from oblivion.”

Supplier or Key Person dependence

Simply put, the business may not be saleable if the business relies on a single supplier or employee that cannot be easily replaced.

OpnRoad M&A Library

We created the most comprehensive list of transactional professionals, business sale service providers, valuation tools, lenders, value advisors, and business sale resources. Everything you need to sell or acquire your business.