by Douglas Brown | Mar 8, 2026 | Overwhelm, Owner goals
A great plan isn’t perfect—it’s realistic. Adopting a whole new “business operating system” will just overload you and confuse your employees. Start with 1–2 near-term actions that (a) move you in the direction you need to go and (b) you can complete in the next 2–4...
by Douglas Brown | Feb 18, 2026 | Business Advising, Liquidate, Owner goals, Retiring, Sell business, Stepping away
Every owner has four strategic choice to make. Not every day, but often enough to guide the general direction of the business for a while. Then there is Option 5: do little to improve the business, and don’t put money into savings or IRAs because they plan to...
by Douglas Brown | Feb 8, 2026 | Business Advising, Reality of the Market
The number one driver of business value, plus of course the way you get paid while owning it, is the profit that it generates. Rolls easy off the tongue to say “just increase your profitability” but if it was that easy, everybody would be doing it. And of course a lot...
by Douglas Brown | Jan 18, 2026 | Business Value, Sell business
When value advisors tell you what your business is worth, they’d better be telling you a range. A wide range. Nobody can give you any closer estimate without knowing a lot about your business. For many of them, the high-end number is the one floated in front of you to...
by Douglas Brown | Jan 8, 2026 | Business Value, Owner goals, Reality of the Market
Do you know what makes your business valuable to YOU? No, it’s not the profit stream, and it’s not just a “three-times net income” formula. Think back to why you got into this business in the first place Is that dream happening for you, or are you grinding it out...
