Thank you, Tom. Tom Carden, Managing Director of Mergers and Acquisitions at Martin Healthcare Advisors, is retiring after 20 years of changing the lives of PT business owners. We tell every owner to plan their exit five years out, so we took our own advice. In this conversation, Paul Martin and Tom look back on the team he built, the outcomes he is proudest of, and what comes next.

In this episode:

0:00 Planning our own exit0:27 Why Tom is retiring now1:24 The team Tom is leaving behind3:13 How Tom and Paul started working together4:11 Proudest moments and client outcomes5:54 Why acquirers know Tom’s name7:19 Walking away from an LOI that felt wrong8:46 What Tom’s impact means to our team9:35 What Tom is looking forward to next10:32 Thank you, Tom

Thinking about your own crossroads, whether to grow or exit? Start with the Outside-In Assessment. Book a call with Paul: https://www.martinhealthcareadvisors.com/outside-in-assessment

Acquirers don’t buy your PT clinics. They buy your cash flow. Paul Martin, Founder and President of Martin Healthcare Advisors, joins host Neil Trickett of Practice Promotions on the Practice Marketing Podcast to explain what acquirers are really paying for, why about 80% of the price is typically goodwill, and why the books have to be clean from day one.

You will also hear how EBITDA multiples change with business size, when to move from a bookkeeper to a fractional CFO, the three month test for owner dependency, and what the market looks like right now for PT businesses.

Chapters
0:00 Acquirers buy cash flow
0:30 Meet Paul Martin
1:16 From 3 clinics to 21
4:20 When to start preparing
6:30 Why waiting until you want out is too late
7:28 Why transitioning to a partner or staff rarely works
9:56 What acquirers are really paying for
15:14 EBITDA multiples by business size
18:02 The bookkeeping mistake that lowers your value
19:30 Bookkeeper, fractional CFO or CFO
23:38 The three month test for owner dependency
25:36 How marketing systems raise your multiple
29:40 Recruiting and retention as a value driver
34:06 The market for PT businesses right now
36:16 What to work on this year
37:40 How to learn more

Talk with Paul: https://calendly.com/mhameetings/30min
Website: https://www.martinhealthcareadvisors.com
Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@martinhealthcareadvisors

Is an ESOP a real exit for a PT business owner? Not in the way that matters most: who carries the risk.

In this episode, Paul Martin explains why an exit is an exchange of risk, and why the alternatives to a third party transition leave you holding it.Paul covers ESOPs (employee stock ownership plans), EOTs (employee ownership trusts), staff buyouts, passing the business to your kids, and paying your team more and stepping back. He also explains why a transition to a third party puts the bulk of your value in your bank account at closing, and when it is not the right answer.

00:00 An exit is an exchange of risk

00:58 How a third party moves the risk

02:12 ESOP: price, cost and the money

05:40 EOT: employee ownership trust

07:33 Staff buyouts: who funds it

10:35 Passing it to kids, or stepping back

11:57 The options side by side

13:03 See your real numbers

Want to see what each option would pay you, and how much risk you would still carry? Book a call with Paul: https://martinhealthcareadvisors.com/book-a-call

Paul Martin is Founder and President of Martin Healthcare Advisors. He grew his own PT business from three clinics to 21 and transitioned it in 1996, and has advised PT business owners for over 27 years.