Epic Entrepreneurs

Unlocking the Value of Your Business: Insights from Viking Mergers & Acquisitions

• Bill Gilliland

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Successful entrepreneurs know their business is often their largest asset, yet most lack a clear strategy for unlocking its full value when it's time to move on. Jeff McKeehan and Chris Buehler from Viking Mergers & Acquisitions pull back the curtain on the complex world of business transitions, revealing insights that could potentially double what your business sells for.

The conversation exposes a critical misconception among business owners: the belief they can handle selling their business themselves. These natural "do-it-yourselfers" have mastered running their companies but often underestimate the specialized expertise needed to maximize sale value. From creating competitive bidding situations to navigating complex due diligence, the M&A professionals explain why going solo typically leaves substantial money on the table.

Perhaps most eye-opening is the timeline revelation. While the average business takes nine months to sell once listed, Viking often works with owners for 4-6 years before taking a business to market. This preparation period focuses on implementing strategic changes that dramatically increase valuation while giving owners time to emotionally prepare for life's next chapter. As Chris poignantly notes, planning this transition thoughtfully beats being forced into a hasty sale due to health issues or unexpected circumstances.

The Viking team shares their proprietary process that begins with accurate valuation, moves through strategic enhancements, professional marketing, buyer identification, and ends with coordinated due diligence support alongside CPAs and attorneys. Their approach specifically targets the challenges unique to privately-held, closely-held companies in the lower middle market.

Ready to explore what your business might be worth? The Viking team invites owners to start the conversation early – even if selling is years away. Their no-obligation consultations provide valuable insights about current value and specific steps to increase that value over time. Connect with them directly at 828-808-5528 or visit them at the upcoming Asheville Business Summit on September 23rd.

Thanks for Listening. You may contact me or our team at https://billgilliland.biz/

All the best!
Bill

Thanks for listening. Please hit the subscribe button, leave us a 5 star review, and share this podcast. You can reach me at williamgilliland@actioncoach.com or at https://billgilliland.biz/

All the best!

Bill

Speaker 1:

Hey there, welcome to this week's episode of Epic Entrepreneurs. I have got a treat for you today, but before we get to our guests and they're great guests I want to remind you that the Asheville Summit, the Asheville Business Summit, is coming up on September 23rd. It's time we're a couple weeks out it's time to get your tickets. You just go to wncsummitcom andI will tell you. I'll give you a secret right now. If you can find one of the sponsors, they might have a ticket for you. All you got to do is ask them. If not, get them out there on the website.

Speaker 1:

We have got some great guests today. We have got a couple of people from Viking Mergers and Acquisitions and I just want to say something about Viking. I mean, when I told Jeff McKeon what we were up to, he's like I'm in. I mean, he was one of the first guys that said let's get behind this summit, let's make it something big and great for Asheville. So I'm super pumped to have Jeff McKeon and his colleague, chris Buehler from Vikings Mergers and Acquisitions. So, jeff, tell us a little bit about you and Viking and your role here in Western North Carolina.

Speaker 2:

Well, bill, it's good to be back here on your podcast, and we are really excited about the upcoming Asheville Business Summit. We've been looking forward to it all year now and it's hard to believe it's right here within the next couple of weeks we're all going to be together and you know it's a great time to come together. We all know what happened almost a year ago here in Western North Carolina and, being a lifelong resident of Western North Carolina, I reside in Triad. I live in the little village of Triad. My office here is in Asheville and you know we are all part of this community and, as Viking, we support the small business community, we support the entrepreneur ecosystem here in western North Carolina, particularly in the greater Asheville area, and we don't think that there's any better place to do business than right here at home. And so when we found out that you were planning this year's event, we wanted to make sure that we got on the marquee there with you, and we appreciate the opportunity that you've given us to be sponsors and to be present and to be a part of this event this year.

Speaker 2:

As far as Viking goes, we are probably the leading mergers and acquisitions firm here in Western North Carolina. What we focus on is what's called the lower middle market. We help business owners of privately owned, closely held companies plan and execute to sell other business. 99.9% of what we do is sell side representation, which means that we work very closely with the business owners in some cases for years, to help prepare the business for sale. Then we go to market and we project manage that whole process all the way to close, step by step, hand in hand with the business owner. So we are very in tune to the ownership aspects of a business and what it takes to grow a business and prepare a business for sale.

Speaker 2:

And your business summit that you host every year, that you graciously invited us to be a part of this year, is right down the middle of the lane for what we do. We are just really excited about it, and we're also excited to have a new member of our team who joined us recently, chris Buehler. He is a very well-known, very well-connected person here in the business community and Chris is going to be front and center at this event, coming up, and we really enjoy having him on board and I'd like to turn it over to Chris to say hello and introduce himself.

Speaker 3:

Thank you, jeff. Thank you, bill, for the opportunity to join you today Again. My name is Chris Buehler, just recently joined with the team at Viking Mergers and Acquisitions. I've actually known Jeff McKeon for about seven years now. I've been in the market for over eight years and Jeff and I found that we kept circling each other at a lot of the same entrepreneur and networking events over the years and struck up a friendship and I've gotten to know Jeff, the team and the Viking process quite well over the years, not only making cross-referrals of business opportunities and potential clients to each other. I actually looked at some of the listings on the Viking platform over the years with a business partner that would be good acquisition candidates and over those years I got to know the Viking team, the Viking process, very well.

Speaker 3:

I have an utmost amount of respect for the professionalism and integrity of the team and earlier this year Jeff and I were speaking about some of the changing business dynamics in Western North Carolina and what we need to do to prepare to support entrepreneurs across the spectrum in coming years post-tween, as businesses get back to generating the kinds of earnings and returns that they had grown accustomed to and look forward to in the future.

Speaker 3:

Since I'd worked with so many entrepreneurs, usually at the earlier and growth stages of their business, it just seemed natural to, when Jeff offered me the invitation to consider joining the Viking team, to do my due diligence and think, oh, this is a great part of working with entrepreneurs that you know. It's a nice part of working with entrepreneurs. That is a nice complement to working with entrepreneurs at the earlier stages as they establish and grow their businesses. And by participating with the Viking team I get the opportunity to support those entrepreneurs when they see the true value of their business manifested in the form of the sale of their business. So it's great to just be able to see the entire life cycle of supporting entrepreneurs through the starting, the growth and ultimately the exiting of their businesses so that they can go chase their dream, be it retirement or starting their next exciting gig. So it's just been a real honor and a pleasure to be invited to join the Viking team and I'm looking forward to supporting businesses and our partners in the region in years to come.

Speaker 1:

So I got a quick question for both of you. What is the biggest misconception about working with a business intermediary?

Speaker 2:

That's a great question, bill. Question that a business owner may have is what value does a M&A advisor, intermediary, business broker what value do they bring? Because they really don't understand the process. Most of the time our clients it's their first time at the rodeo. They've never sold a business before. Most of our clients Most of clients have have never bought a business. They were, they were creative, they had an idea, they had a skill, they had knowledge and they opened a business. They started the business and through grit and determination and hard work over the course of 20, 25, 30, 40 years they've built a successful business and they are do-it-yourselfers. They've worked hard and they've accomplished a lot on their own. And the biggest misconception they have is that, hey, you know I can sell this. Why do I need help doing this? They don't really understand the complexities that are involved in selling a business.

Speaker 2:

From the very start we start on the valuation. We determine, using our proprietary valuation model, what the most likely selling price of that business is going to be in the open market today in an arm's length transaction, and then from that point we can start helping that business owner maximize the value of that business. We know what to look for we know what buyers are asking about a business. We know how they're going to value a business. We also understand if a buyer of that business is going to obtain a loan through the SBA or commercial lender or capital markets to acquire a business. We know what those lenders are going to be asking, the questions that they're going to have about a business, and we're going to be working proactively on the front end to answer all of those questions that we can possibly answer on the front end. We're going to package that business up in a professional marketing way to take it out to the open market and we're going to solicit buyers for that business.

Speaker 2:

The best situation we can get into is a business that we have more than one buyer engaged, prospective buyers, and create what we call a competitive bid process for that business.

Speaker 2:

Well, once it goes under contract, then there's the whole closing process and we're seeing more buyers now and lenders requiring what we call a quality of earnings, where you really dig deep into the financials of that company. We team along with our client, the sellers, cpa attorneys and others to create a full suite of expertise to help that business owner get across the finish line with the cell of that company. So there's a lot to it that business owners generally don't understand, and it's when we sit down with them, when we start through the process, that the light bulb goes off and they recognize that there is there is value to bringing in a person like myself or chris or one of our other team members that are experienced. This is what we do. This is all we do, and we have had a very, very successful track record here in Western North Carolina representing business owners, and I think we've developed a reputation as probably the most trusted M&A advisory firm here in Western North Carolina.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, I found that a couple of things that you said really resonate. First of all, most people you know they're in the business of running their business. They don't know how to market it for sale. So the actual marketing piece of it to me is worth, probably worth all of it. I mean, obviously you're maximizing value. That's in everybody's best interest to get the right value. So you know, I see that as the time factor. I mean they don't want to spend the time I mean it's a full-time job really to sell a business, much less keep it growing, because you have to keep it growing during the sales process. The other thing I think is I don't believe people understand how long it takes. What would you say, what is your average From the time they come to you until you get a deal done? I know about what I think it is. I'd be interested to hear what you think it is.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, that's a great question. Going to market is usually about nine months right now, from the date that we list a business till we close the business. Yep, now that nine months. There's different phases along that timeline. What we're doing across that nine-month period. It changes from phase to phase.

Speaker 2:

Now what has happened is things have become more complex and that timeline's gotten longer. With the COVID period that we were in, that was a challenge from lenders particularly wanting to understand what the impacts were. Now there's all of these other macroeconomic issues that we're dealing with now, even with tariffs and the threat of tariffs and the impacts and the Helene and everything else that we have to work through. So we've seen that timeline creep up over the past couple of years from about seven months to nine months. However, we have worked with clients for four, five, six years before we ever take that business to market. So once we go to market next to the business owner, we are probably the most knowledgeable person with regards to how that business operates and the financial aspects of that business, along with their CPA. We are probably there with that business owner for an extended period of time as we learn about the business and how the business operates. So to say that timeline is nine months may not include the multiple years that we've worked with that business owner to prepare that business.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, keeping in touch with them, giving them advice, telling them. You know, my experience has been people come and they say, well, I want to sell my business and they think it's worth about twice as much as it is. And you know, once they get the real valuation, oh, I'm not going to sell it for that. And so then you have to go to work to make it worth twice as much. You know which is kind of what we do. And then you know, turn it back over to you guys. So, yeah, it's pretty good. Let me ask Chris, let me ask you a question what are you most excited about in helping business owners transition their businesses?

Speaker 3:

I think the part for me is again reflecting back on that description of the entire life cycle of a business. So much of my career has been spent in the early stages of entrepreneurship getting businesses started, mentoring, coaching and advising entrepreneurs through the early stages of launching and growing their firm and I firsthand know the joys of going through that process myself. I have successfully sold a business in the past and I'd like to be able to help entrepreneurs and business owners in the region find that same spirit of accomplishment when they do successfully transact their business. When they do successfully transact their business and they do see the financial benefit from their years of hard work and the options that lie in front of them in terms of what they can do with the balance of the time and the resources that they have to exist on this earth. It's a lot of fun to see new doors and opportunities opening up for business owners once they have successfully exited the business.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, it's pretty cool, it's a pretty. It's pretty cool when they can do it and it's. It's almost like you've, you've, you've experienced it. Now you can get back, and so it's, that's a.

Speaker 2:

Chris, I'm sorry, bill. As far as I'm concerned, this is like a homecoming, in my opinion. You know I'm looking forward to seeing a lot of the people that over the years I've met, I've gotten to know. You know we're all busy. This past year has been a real challenge for everyone. I don't think there's a business in Western North Carolina that wasn't affected one way or another by the hurricane last year, and so we've all been sort of head down doing our thing, trying to you know, trying to recover and rebuild, and I see this as an event almost marking that one year to the day almost, from the hurricane, and I'm really looking forward to just taking a couple of days there and just catching up with people. To be honest with you, I'm really looking forward to seeing some people that I haven't seen in a long time.

Speaker 3:

Yeah, and I would echo that sentiment, bill. There are so many people in our networks that we have not had the opportunity to spend the kind of time quality time with over the past year that we maybe had grown accustomed to prior to Alene, so it's a great opportunity to reconnect with folks in our network, be they clients, partners, customers, what have you. And so for me, the other thing is just because I have just recently joined the Viking team, there are a lot of folks who still don't know that I'm part of the Viking team. It's an opportunity for me to spread the news about joining the team at Viking and looking forward to a very bright future with the team.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, I'm excited that you're on Viking. That's awesome. It's great to see that the Viking team in Western North Carolina is growing, to see that the Viking team in Western North Carolina is growing. You know, for a long time it was just Jeff, you know, and now it's growing more and more. I love it.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, I've often found, you know, I encourage people to go ahead and get your tickets if you haven't already gotten them. The stuff, the magic, you know we've got like nine speakers. It's going to be great, okay, it, I trust you. They're all. You know they're international speakers but they're all based here, which is kind of cool. Um, or most of them are international speakers but they, they're, they're all based here, and so it's it's. You know it is a celebration, but the real magic happens at lunch, in the hallway, at the breaks, when you can sit down and talk to other business owners.

Speaker 1:

I had somebody else that I was interviewing, one of the speakers, who was saying that one of the main things they were looking for is that after Hel, after Helene, it's just been hard to connect to to. Even after COVID he was talking about, it was like harder for to come. We used to come together a lot more as a community, and so we're super pumped to have to create a community together and I'm excited that y'all are excited about the same sort of things. Yeah, so what advice would you have for business owners that are considering transitioning At some point? Every business gets sold one way or the other, so one of the big things I tell people is they probably haven't started soon enough. But what advice would you have other than that to get started about the process?

Speaker 2:

The first piece of advice I give is let's have a conversation, let's talk. Let's talk about your plans, let's talk about what your desire is for the future. You've built a successful company. You've worked hard. Now you are wanting to move to the next phase of life, to the next phase of business. What's your goals? What's your passion? What's the next thing? Look like. The reason I ask that question, bill, is I want to understand what the compelling reason is that a person would have to sell their business. I will never convince someone to sell their business if they don't want to sell it. I will never convince someone to sell their business if they don't have a compelling reason to sell the business. Some people's identity is tied up in their business.

Speaker 1:

Some it's more than just Most, I think.

Speaker 2:

Some can't separate their identity from their business, but the reality is is most of the time, the business is the largest asset in their portfolio, but it's not going to do them any good other than produce a monthly income or an annual income for them until they unlock that value. And what you asked was what's the first step? Contact Viking, let's have a conversation. Let's have a discussion. Let's have a conversation, let's have a discussion. We offer a free, no cost, no obligation consultation. We'll take you through the process. We'll have that discovery meeting. We'll learn more about you and what your goals are.

Speaker 1:

And we'll see if there's a way that we can assist you in achieving what it is you want to do. Yeah, no, I love that. I love that. How about, chris? You're new to the Viking system, but you've done this and you've lived it.

Speaker 3:

What advice would you give, as Jeff said, to start the conversation sooner than a business owner thinks they may need to start that conversation?

Speaker 3:

It's a lot easier to project out what the future looks like when they have the time, they have the capacity, they have the vision for what their life post-business might look like.

Speaker 3:

It may be five years or more before they're prepared to sell their business, but it's a lot easier to have those conversations, a lot easier for a business owner to get their head around what their life looks like post that business, if they do it while they have the opportunity and the space to think about it and plan for it. Because unfortunately you do see business owners who get themselves in a situation, an illness or a medical issue that prevents their full engagement in the business, and then the idea of selling a business is much more hurried, it's much more under circumstances that are outside that business owner's full control. And so just by helping the business owners understand what their options are years before they are prepared to sell a business gives them that peace of mind that, okay, their business and their lives are heading in the right direction and they'll be able to make when it's time. They'll make that decision under their own auspices and under their own guidelines, with a much more predictable outcome.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, no, I love that. I love that. I mean, I'm sure you have too. I mean I've certainly got a horror story or two of someone dying or getting seriously ill, and you know, then it's a fire sale, if that, if they can, even if they can sell it. So, yeah, look, get in touch with these guys sooner than later.

Speaker 1:

I've known Jeff for a long time and I'm going to get to know Chris a lot better at the summit, and so I'm looking forward to that and I've known a lot of business intermediaries over the years and mergers and acquisitions folks, and these guys are the guys you want to talk to. These guys are the guys that are straight up. They're going to tell you the truth and if you're a good fit for them, they'll tell you that, but if you're not, they're also going to put you in the right place. They're going to tell you that they're not a good fit, and here's who can help. So it doesn't hurt to have that conversation, which brings us to the last thing, which is basically how do people get in touch with you?

Speaker 2:

Well, the easiest way to get in touch with us is to give us a call. Well, the easiest way to get in touch with us is to give us a call. You can always reach me at area code 828-808-5528. That is my direct number. Or you can easily send me an email at jmckehan. Jmckehan at vikingmergerscom.

Speaker 3:

And I'll let Chris provide his contact information, and my direct line bill is 828-319-5576 or by email, chris dhras at vikingmergerscom yeah, hey, look, give a call, sit down, have a cup of coffee with them.

Speaker 1:

I promise you they won't bite. Look, it'll be educational. You'll actually get value out of it, because they're going to teach you something about the process and or about business, or at least get you thinking about the things that you need to think about over the next if it's quick, the next year or the next five years, or the next 10 years even. I know that there's been some longer engagement. Hey, listen, I am super excited that you've done this. We are very thankful and grateful that you've come on as a major sponsor of the Asheville Business Summit. We appreciate that. Yeah, and thanks for taking time to do the podcast.

Speaker 2:

Thanks, Bill. We look forward to seeing you at Summit.

Speaker 3:

Yeah, we'll see you soon, bill.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, that's awesome. Hey, and remember, get your tickets. Get them now. Go to WNCSummitcom All the info's there, all the speakers. The ticket sales are kind of ramping up right now, a couple of weeks out, so you want to make sure you get them now while you still can. Hey, and until next time. I look forward to talking to you then, and all the best.