Starting and running a successful business is only half the battle. Do you have an equally successful exit strategy?

After building, buying, and selling 6+ of his own companies, Joe Valley helped build Quiet Light Brokerage, one of the leading online-focused M&A Advisory firms in the world. Now, after facilitating nearly half a billion dollars in exits, Joe has written the bestselling book The EXITpreneur’s Playbook - to help online business owners get the maximum value and best deal structure when they seek their own incredible exit.

If you want to learn how to become an ‘EXITpreneur’ then dive into this very tactical episode to learn from the master of exiting himself.

Things you will learn in this episode:

[00:01 - 05:53] Opening Segment

I introduce today’s guest, Joe Valley
Joe gives us a bit of his background
Always entrepreneurial at heart
Parents and upbringing
Joe’s thoughts on the internal desire to work for himself
College experience and education
Learning what you DON’T want to do for a living
Taking the leap into entrepreneurship

[05:54 - 18:10] How to Become an 'EXITpreneur'

Joe talks about his first venture into ownership
Starting a company called “Wrong Number” in college
Making half a million dollars in his first year
“I’m can not be my business”
Joe’s lessons from his early mistakes selling his business
Waiting too long to sell
You need to make goals
Know your when, what, and where
You don’t want to ‘decide’ to sell, but ‘plan’ to sell
How to detach your name from the business
Examples of how to make the transition
Seek the buyers who are looking to add value
How to choose your buyer instead of courting them
Joe shares how he’s utilized networking to make a good exit
Making connections with like-minded people
Creating mutual benefits
A quick word from our sponsors

[18:11 - 31:39] Creating a Sellable Business

Joe talks about the reason behind his book
Making people comfortable with planning to exit
The value of helping and connecting people
Why the goal should be to help people
50% of the money you make on your business comes from selling
What makes a good, sellable business: an in-depth approach
What buyers are looking for:
Risk, growth, transferability, and documentation
Small businesses carry a bigger risk
If your business is growing, buyers can make predictions
Untransferable assets is an unsellable business
The importance of good documentation and bookkeeping
How to calculate Seller Discretionary Earnings (SDE)
Joe’s advice around Acquisition Entrepreneurship

[31:40 - 35:28] Closing Segment

The example of Amazon sellers
How to connect with Joe and his work - links below
Final words

Tweetable Quotes:

“I am the mistake that I try to help everybody not make.” - Joe Valley

“That’s the thing I want people to avoid, is waiting till the point where they wake up and say, ‘I gotta sell this.’ What they really should do is set some goals.” - Joe Valley

“I make more money by helping people than when I was focused on making money.” - Joe Valley

Resources Mentioned:

You can connect with Joe on Twitter and LinkedIn. Be sure to check out https://quietlight.com/ if you want to exit with more money and better terms!

This podcast is sponsored by BetterHelp and Build Your Network listeners get 10% off their first month at https://betterhelp.com/buildyournetwork

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