Carey Sobel has sold over 100 businesses for other people. Then he sold his own, and learned the parts of an exit no spreadsheet prepares you for.

See where your company really stands with a free business audit: https://ownersos.com/audit?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=description&utm_campaign=ownersos&utm_content=how-to-plan-your-business-exit-and-what-comes-after

On the CEO Roundtable, Sam Taggart and JD Beck talk with Carey Sobel, an M&A advisor and certified exit planning advisor who has closed over 100 transactions. Carey shares what it was actually like to sell his own marketing agency after two decades of brokering other people's deals: the emotional separation, the partner buyout that stalled, the third-party valuation that came in $2.5 million higher than his own number, and the "three legs of the stool" of exit planning. He also digs into the piece most owners ignore, what to do with the money after the sale, from tax mitigation to preserving the wealth.

Carey Sobel is a co-owner and M&A advisor at Boss Group International and Chief Acquisition Officer at Coastal Investment Company. A certified exit planning advisor (CEPA) who has closed over 100 transactions, he built and sold his own award-winning marketing agency, growing it from $100k in revenue to over $12 million before exiting in 2024.

Questions this episode answers:

• How do you plan an exit from your business?
• What does a certified exit planning advisor do?
• What happens to the money after you sell your business?
• Why do partner buyouts get complicated?
• How do you value a business for sale?

What you'll learn in this episode:

• The three legs of exit planning: the business's readiness, the business itself, and you
• What it's really like to sell your own company after selling everyone else's
• Why his partner buyout stalled, and how a third-party valuation reset the number
• The emotional separation of an owner from their business
• The overlooked question: what to do with the money after the sale

This show is brought to you in partnership with Forge and D2D Experts. The best exit starts years early, with clean numbers and a business that runs without you. See where you stand with a free business audit above, and build toward it with Owner's OS: https://ownersos.com/?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=description&utm_campaign=ownersos&utm_content=how-to-plan-your-business-exit-and-what-comes-after

#business #mergersandacquisitions #businessexit #ownersos

Every business owner exits, whether they plan for it or not. Brian Franco watched his own father's business die because it wasn't planned, and he's spent 23 years making sure other owners don't repeat it.

See where your company really stands with a free business audit: https://ownersos.com/audit?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=description&utm_campaign=ownersos&utm_content=the-inevitable-exit-every-owner-will-sell

On the CEO Roundtable, Sam Taggart talks with Brian Franco, founder of Meritage Partners and author of The Inevitable Exit, who has done hundreds of acquisitions and over $2.4 billion in deals. Brian breaks down why every owner will exit one way or another, the painful lesson from watching his own father's business deteriorate after an injury, a company that could have been worth $30 million, and why you should run your business in five-to-seven-year chapters with the exit in mind. He also gets into the brutal generational-failure statistics and the shift from operator to empire builder.

Brian Franco is the founder of Meritage Partners, a Newport Beach M&A advisory firm, and the author of The Inevitable Exit. He got into M&A at 24 and founded his firm at 26, going on to lead hundreds of acquisitions, over $2.4 billion in transactions, and 21 companies to public offerings.

Questions this episode answers:

• Why does every business owner eventually exit?
• How do you plan a business exit in advance?
• Why do generational family businesses fail?
• What is the difference between an operator and an empire builder?
• How do you make your business attractive to institutional buyers?

What you'll learn in this episode:

• Why the exit is inevitable, planned or not, and the real cost of not planning
• How to run your business in five-to-seven-year chapters with the end in mind
• The generational-failure statistics across second, third, and fourth generation
• Why unresolved problems get passed down to your kids along with the business
• The shift from operator to empire builder, and what institutional buyers expect

This show is brought to you in partnership with Forge and D2D Experts. The inevitable exit is easier when the business runs without you and the numbers hold up. Start with a free business audit above, and build the systems with Owner's OS: https://ownersos.com/?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=description&utm_campaign=ownersos&utm_content=the-inevitable-exit-every-owner-will-sell

#business #mergersandacquisitions #businessexit #ownersos

The right attorney gets your deal across the table. The wrong one can blow it up, or quietly take over your roll-up. M&A attorney Mick McGirr has seen both.

See where your company really stands with a free business audit: https://ownersos.com/audit?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=description&utm_campaign=ownersos&utm_content=how-an-attorney-can-kill-or-save-your-business-sale-playbook

On the CEO Roundtable, Sam Taggart and JD Beck sit down with M&A attorney Mick McGirr, who has handled roughly $750 million in transactions since 2020 on both the buy and sell side. Mick explains what a transactional attorney actually does, offense and defense, why you can't close a deal without one, and how a bad one can drive owners apart and even kill a deal. He also breaks down the value of keeping law, tax, accounting, financial, and insurance advice under one roof, and the creative tax questions behind structuring an unconventional cashless roll-up.

Mick McGirr is an M&A attorney with Focus Law, part of a combined professional-services group spanning law, tax and accounting, financial, and insurance. A BYU and Georgetown Law graduate practicing since 2012, he has handled roughly $750 million in transactions over the last five years, on deals ranging from about a million dollars to a quarter billion.

Questions this episode answers:

• What does an M&A attorney do in a business sale?
• Do you actually need a lawyer to sell your company?
• How can an attorney kill a deal?
• Why keep legal, tax, and accounting under one roof?
• How do you structure a cashless roll-up?

What you'll learn in this episode:

• What a transactional attorney really does: drafting, offense, and defense
• How a bad attorney can drive owners apart and blow up a deal
• Why you can't get a deal done without legal, and how to pick the right one
• The advantage of law, tax, accounting, financial, and insurance under one roof
• The tax puzzle behind structuring an unconventional cashless roll-up

This show is brought to you in partnership with Forge and D2D Experts. The cleaner and more organized your business is going in, the less an attorney has to fight over. Owner's OS helps you run on real systems and numbers so your deal holds together. See it here: https://ownersos.com/?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=description&utm_campaign=ownersos&utm_content=how-an-attorney-can-kill-or-save-your-business-sale-os

Time kills every deal, and nothing drags one out like messy numbers. David Barnes has done 36 years and hundreds of acquisitions, and the fix starts long before you ever decide to sell.

See where your numbers really stand with a free business audit: https://ownersos.com/audit?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=description&utm_campaign=ownersos&utm_content=get-your-numbers-right-before-you-sell-playbook

On the CEO Roundtable, hosts JD Beck and Ryan Nichols sit down with M&A veteran David Barnes, a self-described deal junkie with 36 years and hundreds of acquisitions across alarm monitoring, solar, pest control, and roofing. David breaks down why unreliable numbers are the number one deal-killer, what a Quality of Earnings report is and why it's your company's Good Housekeeping seal, how private equity roll-ups actually work, and the hard lessons from the Lumio roll-up that flew too close to the sun.

David Barnes is an investment banker and M&A advisor with 36 years in the industry and hundreds of home-services acquisitions, including a 200-deal roll-up at Protection One in alarm monitoring and roll-ups in solar, pest control, and roofing.

Questions this episode answers:

• What kills most business acquisitions?
• What is a Quality of Earnings report and do you need one?
• How do you prepare your company to sell?
• How does a private equity roll-up work?
• Why does accrual accounting matter when selling?

What you'll learn in this episode:

• Why unreliable numbers are the number one thing that kills a deal and your valuation
• What a Quality of Earnings report is, what it costs, and why buyers and lenders demand it
• Why time is the enemy of transactions, and how messy books drag deals out
• How roll-ups combine companies, and what went wrong with Lumio
• The one thing to fix long before you decide to buy or sell: your numbers

This show is brought to you in partnership with Forge and D2D Experts. Clean, reliable numbers are what protect your valuation when a buyer's team tears it apart. Owner's OS helps you run the business on real numbers and systems, long before you ever sell. See it here: https://ownersos.com/?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=description&utm_campaign=ownersos&utm_content=get-your-numbers-right-before-you-sell-os

A few years ago, buyers would pay almost anything for a roofing company. That gold rush is over, and Claudio Vilas explains why that's actually good news, and what it now takes to be sellable.

See where your company really stands with a free business audit: https://ownersos.com/audit?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=description&utm_campaign=ownersos&utm_content=what-it-really-takes-to-sell-a-roofing-company-now-playbook

On the CEO Roundtable, Sam Taggart and Ryan Nichols talk with roofing M&A broker Claudio Vilas about how the roofing acquisition market has matured. Claudio explains why the days of overpaying with heavy leverage are gone, why buyers now ask far harder questions, and why messy accounting is the number one reason a roofing company can't sell. There's plenty of money on the sidelines, but few companies are actually eligible for it, and the fix is getting organized: clean financials, real systems, and a business that runs on process instead of people.

Claudio Vilas is a business broker with over a decade in M&A who now focuses exclusively on the roofing industry, having launched his roofing brokerage in 2022. He helps roofing owners get their deals across the table.

Questions this episode answers:

• How do you sell a roofing company?
• What is the roofing M&A market like now?
• Why can't most roofing companies get acquired?
• What do buyers look at before acquiring a roofing company?
• How do you prepare a roofing business to sell?

What you'll learn in this episode:

• Why the roofing acquisition gold rush ended, and why a tougher market is healthier
• How overpaying and over-leverage burned a lot of early buyers
• Why messy accounting is the number one reason a company can't sell
• Why buyers now ask deeper questions, and what a "second bite at the apple" depends on
• How to become eligible: clean financials, transferable systems, and less reliance on people

This show is brought to you in partnership with Forge and D2D Experts. Being sellable comes down to clean numbers and systems that transfer without you. Owner's OS is the operating system built to get you there long before a buyer ever looks. See it here: https://ownersos.com/?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=description&utm_campaign=ownersos&utm_content=what-it-really-takes-to-sell-a-roofing-company-now-os

How much is your home service business actually worth, and would it survive due diligence?

Greg Hicks has moved billions in home-service deals, and in this CEO ROUNDTABLE, he breaks down what makes a company sell for top dollar.

See where your company really stands with a free business audit: OwnersosFind the $5M+ Leak In your Home Service Business

Sam Taggart and Ryan Nichols sat down with M&A advisor Greg Hicks to break down how home service companies actually get sold. Greg explains why your margin over three years sets your multiple far more than revenue, why recurring revenue turns a job you own into an asset buyers fight over, how the private equity roll-up really works, and why customer and owner concentration is the number one thing that kills a deal.

He also gets into the emotional side of selling, the questions every owner needs answered before they sign, and how to take care of your team with equity instead of a one-time check.

Greg Hicks is a partner at Nicholls Collie Advisory and Services, part of a top-100 US CPA firm, and previously founded JGH Consulting. Based in Atlanta, he has spent over a decade in home-service M&A, moving from ten-million-dollar deals to overseeing roughly two billion dollars in transactions a year, and recently sold his own firm to a private equity group.

What you'll learn in this episode:

• Why margin over three years, not revenue, sets your multiple (Greg's "round up" process)
• How recurring revenue turns a job you own into an asset buyers compete for
• The roll-up arbitrage: buy smaller companies, then sell the bigger combined platform for a much higher multiple
• Why customer and owner concentration is the number one deal-killer
• How to take care of your team with equity and rollovers instead of just a lump sum
• The emotional side of selling, and the questions every owner must answer first

Here's the thing: most owners have no clue what their business is really worth, and even less about whether it would hold up when a buyer's team tears it apart. Do not wait until you want out to find out. See exactly where you stand with a free business audit, and when you're ready to build the systems that make you sellable, that's what Owner's OS is for: OwnersosOwnersOS helps home-service companies scale

Only about 15% of roofing companies that want to sell are actually ready when a buyer shows up. This episode is about getting on the right side of that number.

Follow along at @forgestrategicequity: Instagraminstagram.com/forgestrategicequity

In Episode 2 of The Forge Podcast CEO Roundtable, Sam Taggart sits down with someone who sits on the other side of the table when roofing and home service companies get bought. You'll hear how private equity actually values your company, why "key man risk" quietly kills more deals than bad financials, and the honest math behind selling now versus keeping your cash flow.

By the end, you'll know what makes a company worth buying and what to start fixing today if an exit is anywhere on your radar.

Benton Sturt is a Director at Meridian Capital, a leading middle-market investment bank, where he co-leads the firm's consumer practice and advises home service companies across roofing, HVAC, plumbing, and pest control through mergers, acquisitions, and capital raises.

A Goldman Sachs alum and a 2025 M&A Advisor Emerging Leaders award winner, Benton has guided owners from first conversation to nine-figure close.

What you'll learn in this episode:

• Why only about 15% of companies that want to sell are actually ready, and how to join them
• The "key man" problem that drags down valuations, and how to fix it before a buyer finds it
• How a $90M home service deal actually comes together behind the scenes
• The sell-now-or-keep-cashing-checks math every owner should run before talking to buyers
• What separates a $10M roofing company from a $100M exit

Here's the truth.

If your company falls apart the second you stop showing up, you don't own a business, you own a job. Buyers smell that from a mile away and they price it in. Build the reps and systems that run without you, then let the right people look under the hood before a buyer does.

That's exactly what Forge does.

Apply at Forge Strategic Equity: ForgestrategicequityForge Strategic Equity | Home

#roofing #privateequity #businessexit #roofingbusiness #homeservices #forgestrategicequity #d2d

The roofing acquisition wave is here, private equity is rolling up companies fast, and most owners will miss it because they aren't ready when the offer comes.

Follow along at @forgestrategicequity: https://www.instagram.com/forgestrategicequity/

In this episode of The Forge Podcast CEO Roundtable, Sam Taggart digs into the wave of private equity money flooding into roofing and home services, why so many owners are going to watch it pass them by, and what it actually takes to be on the winning side of a roll-up. You'll hear how buyers think, what they pay for, and the moves an owner needs to make now so that when the acquisition wave reaches their market, they're the company getting the offer instead of the one getting left behind.

What you'll learn in this episode:

• Why private equity is rolling up roofing and home service companies right now
• What buyers actually look for before they ever make an offer
• The "key man risk" that keeps most owners from being ready
• How to position your company to be on the winning side of the wave
• What separates the owners who cash out from the ones who miss the window

Here's the truth. This wave is not going to wait for you to get organized. If your company can't run without you and your numbers aren't clean, buyers move on to the next one and you watch your neighbor get the check. Build the systems now, and let the right people look under the hood before a buyer does. That's exactly what Forge does.

Apply at Forge Strategic Equity: https://forgestrategicequity.com/?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=description&utm_campaign=forge&utm_content=the-roofing-acquisition-wave-is-here-and-most-owners-will-miss-it-apply

#roofing #privateequity #rollup #businessexit #roofingbusiness #forgestrategicequity #d2d