E200: Buying or Selling a Small Business? Get the Insider Tips You Need to Secure Your Deal

How2Exit: Buy, Don't Build - M&A of Small Businesses

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Watch Here: https://youtu.be/HG8oQJeVZLA
About the Guest(s): Patrick O'Connell is an experienced mergers and acquisitions (M\&A) advisor with a profound depth of knowledge in buying and selling small businesses valued between one to $20 million. Patrick brings his expertise from a solid educational foundation with a degree in accounting from James Madison University to his current position as the founder and managing director of M\&A transaction services at O'Connell Advisory Group. With a career spanning over a decade, Patrick has become an industry-agnostic specialist, facilitating financial diligence, quality of earnings, purchase price negotiation, and offering comprehensive partnership support to his clients.
Episode Summary: In this engaging episode of the How2Exit Podcast, host Ronald Skelton welcomes Patrick O'Connell, a seasoned mergers and acquisitions advisor, to shed light on the intricacies of buying and selling small businesses. This episode serves as a deep dive into Patrick's journey from a young accounting graduate to a M\&A powerhouse, navigating transactions in industries as varied as HVAC and pharmaceuticals.
Patrick walks us through the process that remains consistent across industries when acquiring or selling a business, from the Letter of Intent to due diligence and purchase price negotiations. The conversation also covers the strategies business owners should consider to prepare for the buying or selling process, such as having a solid management team and establishing an exit plan that truly adds value to the business.
Key Takeaways:

• Business valuation is often industry-specific, and the market sets the price based on comparable sales in the recent past.
• Emotional readiness and concessions are critical in M&A transactions. Deals not only involve financial stakes but also human emotions and relationships.
• A company being ready to sell often means having an operational structure where the owner's day-to-day involvement is minimal.
• A dedicated M&A team can catalyze growth through acquisitions, but this concept is underutilized in small to mid-sized businesses.
• Businesses with paper-based accounting and traditional management can still be great acquisition targets if their financials are in order.

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Contact Patrick on
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/patrick-o-connell-3b235177/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/SMBDealGuy
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How2Exit Joins IT ExchangeNet's Channel Partner Network!
Have an IT Company doing between $5M and $30M You may Sell? The IT ExchangeNet M&A Marketplace @Ronald Skelton - How2Exit Host has a proprietary database of 50,000+ global buyers seeking IT Services firms, MSPs, MSSPs, Software-as-a-Service platforms and channel partners in the Microsoft, Oracle, ServiceNow and Salesforce space.
If you are interested in learning more about the process and current market valuations, complete the contact form and we’ll respond within one business day. Everything is kept confidential.
https://www.itexchangenet.com/marketplace-how2exit
Our partnership with IT ExchangeNet focuses on deals above $5M in value.
If you are looking to buy or sell a tech business below the $5M mark, we recommend Flippa.
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▶️E94: Hans Sperling Discusses Mergers And Acquisitions Transactions And Provisions - https://youtu.be/VdFEZq13SpE
▶️E90: Christine McDannell of Magnolia Firm Helps Business Owners Achieve Seamless Exits - https://youtu.be/wyl358GKQ4Y
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