Muriel Twechey on Scaling, Exit Strategies, and Building Self-Sustaining Businesses

1 00:00:00,320 --> 00:00:06,080 This is the Beyond Business Podcast with your host, Katherine Martin Fisher. 2 00:00:06,399 --> 00:00:10,480 Real entrepreneurs, real pressure, real decisions. 3 00:00:10,719 --> 00:00:15,615 We unpack what helped them turn a company into a business worth having without losing the life 4 00:00:15,615 --> 00:00:16,734 they actually want. 5 00:00:17,214 --> 00:00:20,894 You'll leave each episode with practical takeaways and action steps you can use right 6 00:00:20,894 --> 00:00:21,375 now. 7 00:00:21,855 --> 00:00:23,375 Let's go beyond just the business. 8 00:00:28,640 --> 00:00:33,119 Welcome to the Beyond Business Podcast, where we go beyond business to explore the 9 00:00:33,119 --> 00:00:39,119 strategies, stories, and mindset shifts that help entrepreneurs build thriving companies, 10 00:00:39,575 --> 00:00:43,174 create meaningful impact, and leave lasting legacy. 11 00:00:43,574 --> 00:00:50,695 I'm your host, Katherine Martin Fischer with the Beyond Business Podcast and I'm excited to 12 00:00:50,695 --> 00:00:58,310 have our guest Muriel Twechey, founder of Exit three d Studio where she helps business owners 13 00:00:58,310 --> 00:01:03,829 grow, scale, and prepare their companies for maximum value and successful exits. 14 00:01:05,105 --> 00:01:10,704 Muriel brings a unique perspective to entrepreneur to entrepreneurship because she 15 00:01:10,704 --> 00:01:16,385 understands that building a great business isn't just about generating more sales today. 16 00:01:16,704 --> 00:01:24,959 It's also about creating an asset that can thrive without you potentially creating, that 17 00:01:24,959 --> 00:01:30,959 can thrive without you and potentially create a life changing wealth in the future. 18 00:01:31,359 --> 00:01:34,479 Muriel, thank you so much for being with us here today. 19 00:01:34,479 --> 00:01:40,134 We are excited to dive into your journey and what it is that you do to help others be able 20 00:01:40,134 --> 00:01:43,174 to get their exit strategies in in place. 21 00:01:44,134 --> 00:01:48,614 Thank you, Catherine, for this great that's warm introduction. 22 00:01:48,774 --> 00:01:49,094 Thank you. 23 00:01:50,409 --> 00:01:58,489 Well, Muriel, let's go let's dive into the reason why you started three d Exit Studios. 24 00:01:59,770 --> 00:02:00,250 Yes. 25 00:02:00,250 --> 00:02:09,694 So I started Exit three d Studio because I was I wanted to have a a business in The US. 26 00:02:09,694 --> 00:02:15,294 So far, I was working with the French markets where I wanted to have a, you know, an offer 27 00:02:15,294 --> 00:02:20,939 for The US market, but it didn't come that naturally that quickly. 28 00:02:20,939 --> 00:02:31,420 I had to go through trying to buy a business and fall into, you know, a lot of problems. 29 00:02:31,580 --> 00:02:35,284 I had so much challenges trying to find the right business. 30 00:02:35,284 --> 00:02:37,525 I was that close to buying one. 31 00:02:37,924 --> 00:02:45,044 And and I discovered that, actually, most service businesses, because I was looking for a 32 00:02:45,044 --> 00:02:50,770 service business, was always had four structural gaps. 33 00:02:50,930 --> 00:03:01,409 And instead of trying to find a business to buy while 70 to 80% of businesses that go for sale 34 00:03:02,025 --> 00:03:03,145 never sell. 35 00:03:03,384 --> 00:03:04,104 I say, okay. 36 00:03:04,104 --> 00:03:06,745 I'm gonna take another a step back. 37 00:03:06,745 --> 00:03:15,439 I will build a firm that will actually help those businesses be more exit ready no matter 38 00:03:15,439 --> 00:03:18,480 they wanna keep their business or sell it. 39 00:03:19,039 --> 00:03:25,439 You know what I love about what you just said is you found a problem, and you found a gap in 40 00:03:25,439 --> 00:03:26,480 the marketplace. 41 00:03:27,039 --> 00:03:28,879 And you came for the solution. 42 00:03:31,125 --> 00:03:31,844 Thank you. 43 00:03:31,844 --> 00:03:32,485 Yes. 44 00:03:33,365 --> 00:03:41,685 This is what I at some point, it became too obvious for me to not act because it's really 45 00:03:41,685 --> 00:03:50,060 an normally, you will work with a business broker or an m and a firm, they work completely 46 00:03:50,060 --> 00:03:50,939 differently. 47 00:03:51,340 --> 00:03:57,180 They will not work years in advance to prepare your business for a higher valuation. 48 00:03:57,074 --> 00:03:57,555 Valuation. 49 00:03:57,555 --> 00:04:01,794 They will just work the number and sell the business as it is. 50 00:04:01,794 --> 00:04:03,314 They might okay. 51 00:04:03,314 --> 00:04:10,194 I I don't want to say bad things, but they might advise, but they will not work in the 52 00:04:10,194 --> 00:04:18,680 business like I will be doing, like building the systems What would you say 53 00:04:18,759 --> 00:04:27,214 what would you say is the difference between a business that is growing or a and and the 54 00:04:27,214 --> 00:04:30,254 difference between a business that is truly scalable? 55 00:04:31,294 --> 00:04:32,014 Yes. 56 00:04:32,095 --> 00:04:37,615 So a business that is growing is a business that can get client. 57 00:04:37,935 --> 00:04:38,334 Okay? 58 00:04:39,599 --> 00:04:41,360 Short term contract. 59 00:04:42,000 --> 00:04:43,279 The client come. 60 00:04:43,279 --> 00:04:44,399 Project is finished. 61 00:04:44,399 --> 00:04:45,199 They go. 62 00:04:45,680 --> 00:04:51,360 This is a business that is growing, that are making revenue, but it's the revenue quality 63 00:04:51,360 --> 00:04:57,285 and predictability is not there because every month starts from zero. 64 00:04:57,444 --> 00:04:59,845 You have to get the new client. 65 00:05:01,285 --> 00:05:10,919 A business that can really scale is a business that can introduce recurring revenue, retainer, 66 00:05:11,000 --> 00:05:12,600 and have visibility. 67 00:05:14,680 --> 00:05:23,514 So if I go back in the, you know, the shoes of a buyer, if I buy that business, I want to know 68 00:05:23,514 --> 00:05:27,034 that every month, it's gonna make that much revenue. 69 00:05:27,034 --> 00:05:28,475 Like, I know already. 70 00:05:28,794 --> 00:05:35,115 My lender will know that, and I will get my loan because we know that money is coming in 71 00:05:35,115 --> 00:05:35,914 every month. 72 00:05:36,819 --> 00:05:46,019 When it's a project based business, when there is no retainer, you or or any way of predicting 73 00:05:46,019 --> 00:05:51,459 the revenue that is coming in, it's more difficult, and it gets discounted. 74 00:05:53,935 --> 00:06:00,495 So when you first evaluate a company, what are the warning signs that tell that growth may be 75 00:06:00,495 --> 00:06:01,295 fragile? 76 00:06:03,454 --> 00:06:03,855 Yes. 77 00:06:03,855 --> 00:06:11,670 So the quality of the revenue project based versus recurring and also the customer's 78 00:06:11,670 --> 00:06:12,710 concentration. 79 00:06:13,509 --> 00:06:18,949 If I open the SIEM, which is the brochure, basically, to know. 80 00:06:20,964 --> 00:06:25,845 It's the marketing brochure of a business that go for sale, the same. 81 00:06:26,485 --> 00:06:35,000 When I see the little graph with the let's say, they have three customers that do 80% of the 82 00:06:35,000 --> 00:06:42,759 revenue or something, this is a this is a red flag and and also a sign of a fragile business. 83 00:06:43,400 --> 00:06:48,595 Because if one customer leave, they just lose that much revenue. 84 00:06:48,595 --> 00:06:56,754 And when you transfer, you can be pretty sure that you will lose that revenue because a lot 85 00:06:56,754 --> 00:07:01,475 of the of this business, these are very funder dependent. 86 00:07:01,475 --> 00:07:05,490 That means the client is attached to the funder, not to the business. 87 00:07:06,689 --> 00:07:08,529 That is really interesting. 88 00:07:08,529 --> 00:07:11,009 I actually have a client go through that right now. 89 00:07:11,810 --> 00:07:12,370 Yeah. 90 00:07:12,370 --> 00:07:18,274 Looks like what what systems should do you would you say that every business owner should 91 00:07:18,274 --> 00:07:23,634 have in place that when they want predictable growth? 92 00:07:24,915 --> 00:07:25,394 Yes. 93 00:07:25,394 --> 00:07:28,194 So it will come from their offer. 94 00:07:28,990 --> 00:07:36,269 Can they you know, if they are project based, can they introduce some new offer to have you 95 00:07:36,269 --> 00:07:39,389 know, to keep the client in the long term? 96 00:07:40,269 --> 00:07:46,024 So if you ever sell, they are locked in with a contract. 97 00:07:48,985 --> 00:07:50,264 That's one thing. 98 00:07:50,264 --> 00:07:55,144 Can you just tell me again the end of the question just to make sure I cover it fully? 99 00:07:56,160 --> 00:08:01,840 So what are what are some systems that every business owner should have in place to you 100 00:08:01,840 --> 00:08:04,639 know, in order to have predictable growth? 101 00:08:05,040 --> 00:08:05,600 Because if they 102 00:08:05,600 --> 00:08:07,840 wanna do that The offer. 103 00:08:07,840 --> 00:08:08,720 The offer. 104 00:08:09,235 --> 00:08:17,555 And then an acquisition engine that is predictable as well. 105 00:08:18,035 --> 00:08:22,754 And I'm not talking about referral or word-of-mouth. 106 00:08:23,350 --> 00:08:26,790 Those are great, but there are bonuses. 107 00:08:27,350 --> 00:08:34,389 I've always told that to my client, it's good when you get a referral or some word-of-mouth. 108 00:08:34,389 --> 00:08:42,845 It's the cherry on the cake, but you need to be yourself having that lead generation coming and 109 00:08:42,845 --> 00:08:48,524 that sales that are coming, you know, from a good engine, a good system. 110 00:08:49,165 --> 00:08:49,884 Right. 111 00:08:50,044 --> 00:08:50,445 Awesome. 112 00:08:51,399 --> 00:08:56,919 Now, you know, one of the things I've had this conversation with others before, and I think 113 00:08:56,919 --> 00:09:01,879 most businesses, they business owners, they go into business, but they never think about the 114 00:09:01,879 --> 00:09:02,440 end. 115 00:09:02,759 --> 00:09:06,245 They're always just thinking about the beginning and getting through and, you know, 116 00:09:06,245 --> 00:09:07,524 and and growing the business. 117 00:09:07,605 --> 00:09:11,845 When would you say is a good time to start thinking about your exit strategy? 118 00:09:13,444 --> 00:09:14,644 That's a good question. 119 00:09:15,959 --> 00:09:18,759 For a long time, I didn't think about it either. 120 00:09:18,759 --> 00:09:21,799 So like, I was really exactly like them. 121 00:09:23,480 --> 00:09:29,240 I will say, as soon as you know it, that you know it's important, you should think about it. 122 00:09:29,585 --> 00:09:34,225 Like, you listen to this podcast today, you should think about it. 123 00:09:34,225 --> 00:09:36,384 But, ideally, from the beginning Yeah. 124 00:09:36,705 --> 00:09:45,460 Because when you build a business that a potential buyer will want, You're also building 125 00:09:45,460 --> 00:09:52,580 a business that is easier to run for you, that is less training, less dependent. 126 00:09:54,100 --> 00:09:57,539 And, yeah, so from the beginning, ideally. 127 00:09:57,779 --> 00:10:02,195 And at the latest, a few years before you want to sell. 128 00:10:03,554 --> 00:10:07,955 So when you say a few years, that could be different depending on the industry. 129 00:10:08,034 --> 00:10:09,235 I can tell you exactly. 130 00:10:09,235 --> 00:10:15,509 I was actually thinking, should I continue ideally about three, four years before? 131 00:10:15,509 --> 00:10:23,509 Because when a buyer evaluate your business, they look at the last three years' p and l as 132 00:10:23,509 --> 00:10:25,830 well as the trailing twelve months. 133 00:10:26,629 --> 00:10:35,455 So if you have you know, your financial are good, growing, low customer concentration, 134 00:10:35,534 --> 00:10:41,054 like, everything is sorted out, good, then you will probably get the valuation that you want. 135 00:10:41,054 --> 00:10:49,279 You might even get an offer that is higher than what you've been asking if the buyer is really 136 00:10:49,279 --> 00:10:50,879 motivated by your business. 137 00:10:51,759 --> 00:10:58,879 So I will say that time to really clean up and the business and the financial and everything. 138 00:10:59,735 --> 00:11:10,054 And if it's just one year before, because we usually see that, we see a last year is really 139 00:11:10,214 --> 00:11:16,179 or the trailing twelve months event is a lot higher than the other year. 140 00:11:17,059 --> 00:11:19,139 Unfortunately, that's not enough. 141 00:11:19,299 --> 00:11:25,220 That only show that there was a problem before, so we had to act to just grow the last year. 142 00:11:25,699 --> 00:11:36,705 And I will add, when lenders look at businesses like this, actually, my lenders, the one who 143 00:11:36,705 --> 00:11:44,190 was evaluating a business for me, he was actually looking at the year that was the 144 00:11:44,190 --> 00:11:45,710 lowest in revenue. 145 00:11:46,190 --> 00:11:57,195 So that deep two years ago, still matter because they will base their calculation to 146 00:11:57,195 --> 00:11:58,875 give you a loan. 147 00:11:58,875 --> 00:11:59,274 You know? 148 00:11:59,274 --> 00:12:09,434 They are they are calculating the DSCR, like the debt service credit ratio to see if you can 149 00:12:10,250 --> 00:12:18,809 it is a number, and it shows that you can pay back the loan with the cash flow of the 150 00:12:18,809 --> 00:12:19,529 business. 151 00:12:19,929 --> 00:12:22,330 If it's too low, you don't get the loan. 152 00:12:22,730 --> 00:12:24,649 If it's comfortable, okay. 153 00:12:25,205 --> 00:12:26,485 You can get it. 154 00:12:26,725 --> 00:12:33,684 But they base their calculation on, at least my lender, on the worst year. 155 00:12:34,004 --> 00:12:39,445 So that's why the last year increase doesn't matter. 156 00:12:40,419 --> 00:12:42,580 We don't look at this. 157 00:12:43,220 --> 00:12:48,420 So what would cause a buyer to walk away from the deal? 158 00:12:49,620 --> 00:12:51,139 Oh, a lot of things. 159 00:12:51,860 --> 00:13:03,214 I can tell you from my experience, when I got that offer accepted, I walked away because I 160 00:13:03,214 --> 00:13:09,149 discover, and after a couple of weeks in due diligence, they finally give me that 161 00:13:09,149 --> 00:13:11,389 information that I asked from the beginning. 162 00:13:11,710 --> 00:13:16,110 It was the revenue split per client. 163 00:13:16,750 --> 00:13:24,544 I calculated everything for the past year and I discovered that, okay, they had about 35 164 00:13:24,544 --> 00:13:25,345 clients. 165 00:13:26,865 --> 00:13:28,945 In August, they had 35 clients. 166 00:13:28,945 --> 00:13:31,424 In December, they still have 35 clients. 167 00:13:31,504 --> 00:13:35,184 But they were saying they were growing 30% every month. 168 00:13:36,759 --> 00:13:38,120 What was happening? 169 00:13:38,120 --> 00:13:41,000 So I had to look into that. 170 00:13:41,399 --> 00:13:49,959 And I walk away because they were losing about 40% of their client every month. 171 00:13:50,325 --> 00:13:55,684 They were able to get those client in, but after the three months engagement, they were 172 00:13:55,684 --> 00:13:57,445 out every time. 173 00:13:58,004 --> 00:14:08,080 So, yeah, plus some a bit borderline practice to the LinkedIn lead gen agency. 174 00:14:08,960 --> 00:14:12,559 Their practice, I say, okay. 175 00:14:12,559 --> 00:14:12,879 No. 176 00:14:12,879 --> 00:14:14,639 I I'm walking away. 177 00:14:15,039 --> 00:14:15,519 Wow. 178 00:14:15,519 --> 00:14:22,654 Because I also I was going to discount the business, like, four times what they wanted. 179 00:14:23,294 --> 00:14:24,095 Wow. 180 00:14:24,894 --> 00:14:25,375 Yes. 181 00:14:25,375 --> 00:14:32,975 Now this is this is something I'm always curious about is what does a founder's 182 00:14:32,975 --> 00:14:36,899 dependency how does that hurt the business valuation? 183 00:14:38,740 --> 00:14:47,460 Well, that hurts the valuation because we can I mean, if we need the founder for everything, 184 00:14:47,460 --> 00:14:53,894 for the sales, for the operation, for the decision, for the knowledge, everything, we 185 00:14:53,894 --> 00:14:55,175 cannot buy that? 186 00:14:55,175 --> 00:14:56,615 We cannot buy the owner. 187 00:14:56,615 --> 00:14:58,295 We're just buying the business. 188 00:14:58,774 --> 00:15:01,259 So, Yeah. 189 00:15:01,259 --> 00:15:04,379 That's something that need to be fixed before. 190 00:15:05,580 --> 00:15:11,339 So when you're building a business that runs without you, what does that really look like? 191 00:15:12,620 --> 00:15:19,544 That looks like the founder can go on vacation for one month, and his business is still 192 00:15:19,544 --> 00:15:20,264 running. 193 00:15:20,985 --> 00:15:25,225 Basically, he has the team that knows how to run the business. 194 00:15:25,225 --> 00:15:27,090 He has the system. 195 00:15:28,529 --> 00:15:30,929 The sales are not dependent on him. 196 00:15:33,170 --> 00:15:42,044 If there is enough client or at least not just one or two client that could tomorrow. 197 00:15:42,044 --> 00:15:48,845 But everything is documented properly because even if a person in the team is leaving, you 198 00:15:48,845 --> 00:15:56,940 can replace that person, and they can get up to you know? 199 00:15:57,259 --> 00:16:03,820 They by reading the SOP and the training, they can get ready to work. 200 00:16:03,820 --> 00:16:04,139 You know? 201 00:16:05,355 --> 00:16:10,154 I just missed the right word, but, like, they ramp up, and they they know how to work 202 00:16:10,554 --> 00:16:11,274 directly. 203 00:16:11,274 --> 00:16:13,754 They someone can be replaced easily. 204 00:16:14,154 --> 00:16:15,674 And yeah. 205 00:16:15,914 --> 00:16:19,355 After, it's not just a problem with the founder dependency. 206 00:16:19,355 --> 00:16:22,620 Sometime, you also have key employee risk. 207 00:16:23,980 --> 00:16:24,540 Mhmm. 208 00:16:24,620 --> 00:16:30,300 What one and it might not be the founder, but it's one person that have all the knowledge or 209 00:16:30,300 --> 00:16:33,340 all the that's doing the sales. 210 00:16:34,214 --> 00:16:38,375 It's complicated now to have a good business and to buy a good business. 211 00:16:39,735 --> 00:16:41,575 So let me ask you. 212 00:16:41,735 --> 00:16:45,495 You've helped businesses to generate leads through LinkedIn. 213 00:16:45,815 --> 00:16:46,294 Right? 214 00:16:46,294 --> 00:16:51,009 And so what are companies doing wrong on LinkedIn then today? 215 00:16:53,330 --> 00:16:53,970 Okay. 216 00:16:53,970 --> 00:16:59,170 So sometime they will spam too much. 217 00:17:00,529 --> 00:17:10,205 They will do a lot of volume instead of being more intentional, targeting better, you know, 218 00:17:10,205 --> 00:17:13,644 who they want to target, also generic messages. 219 00:17:14,799 --> 00:17:18,720 But I think what hurts the most is pitching too soon. 220 00:17:19,200 --> 00:17:20,160 Immediate. 221 00:17:20,160 --> 00:17:20,720 Yeah. 222 00:17:20,720 --> 00:17:21,200 Immediate. 223 00:17:21,200 --> 00:17:22,000 Too soon. 224 00:17:22,240 --> 00:17:30,875 The amount of immediate messaging without even knowing you is all about this is what I can do 225 00:17:30,875 --> 00:17:31,355 for you. 226 00:17:31,355 --> 00:17:33,275 You don't even know what I need. 227 00:17:34,075 --> 00:17:34,875 Exactly. 228 00:17:35,195 --> 00:17:36,394 You're just Yeah. 229 00:17:36,634 --> 00:17:37,434 Pitching. 230 00:17:37,755 --> 00:17:44,769 I am blown away as to the amount of people that just pitch and don't actually get to know they 231 00:17:44,769 --> 00:17:48,690 don't get to know you as a person first and as a business owner. 232 00:17:49,730 --> 00:17:50,289 Yes. 233 00:17:50,289 --> 00:17:56,769 It's like when after they want to have the strategy call to diagnose your problem, then 234 00:17:56,769 --> 00:17:57,730 they will ask a question. 235 00:17:57,924 --> 00:18:03,284 But you can you should be doing that even when you try to get the meeting. 236 00:18:04,164 --> 00:18:06,325 And I agree it can take time. 237 00:18:06,724 --> 00:18:08,804 It can be time consuming. 238 00:18:08,964 --> 00:18:19,980 But that's why if you target well, you know your ICP, you get more answers, and you will 239 00:18:19,980 --> 00:18:22,380 have you won't have to do it a lot. 240 00:18:23,994 --> 00:18:31,515 Now it's important when you're evaluating when you're doing a business valuation to know how 241 00:18:31,515 --> 00:18:37,130 that company does their marketing, how they, you know, capture their leads, how they're 242 00:18:37,130 --> 00:18:39,849 keeping track of their KPIs, and all of that. 243 00:18:40,009 --> 00:18:45,369 So what are some things that you help your clients to have in place in order to have a 244 00:18:45,369 --> 00:18:46,569 good good valuation? 245 00:18:48,335 --> 00:18:48,734 Yeah. 246 00:18:48,734 --> 00:18:54,095 We we we create their acquisition engine. 247 00:18:54,575 --> 00:19:04,799 And in my first growth program, it's only we only focus on one channel, which is LinkedIn, 248 00:19:04,799 --> 00:19:07,919 creating the acquisition engine from LinkedIn. 249 00:19:08,400 --> 00:19:12,559 In my scale program, we diversify. 250 00:19:12,559 --> 00:19:19,644 We are going multicanal just to not be dependent on one single source of lead 251 00:19:19,644 --> 00:19:23,484 generation because if let's say, should not happen. 252 00:19:23,484 --> 00:19:30,605 But if something happened to LinkedIn and go, then you don't have a pipeline anymore. 253 00:19:31,210 --> 00:19:32,730 It's diversifying. 254 00:19:33,450 --> 00:19:43,450 And in the exit ready package program, we we even rebuild the website so it we really have a 255 00:19:43,450 --> 00:19:46,809 good funnel to convert. 256 00:19:47,345 --> 00:19:54,065 We look at CRM as well, so nothing goes through the crack. 257 00:19:55,345 --> 00:19:58,305 We even in the scale, we run some ads. 258 00:19:58,305 --> 00:20:08,069 So it's just diversifying the the way you can capture leads and, yeah, and focusing on the 259 00:20:08,069 --> 00:20:12,884 conversion, not the vanity metrics. 260 00:20:12,884 --> 00:20:16,325 Like, you don't need likes, for example. 261 00:20:16,804 --> 00:20:17,684 Who cares? 262 00:20:17,845 --> 00:20:18,164 Right. 263 00:20:18,164 --> 00:20:21,605 It does not bring it doesn't bring anything. 264 00:20:21,605 --> 00:20:28,910 You want to create a presence and a system that bring you conversion. 265 00:20:30,269 --> 00:20:33,710 So speaking about conversion, 266 00:20:33,789 --> 00:20:39,789 in order to get that to happen there, what would you say are good marketing investments 267 00:20:40,164 --> 00:20:43,204 that give you the highest ROI right now? 268 00:20:45,125 --> 00:20:49,204 Oh, it's really depending on the on the business. 269 00:20:49,204 --> 00:20:51,605 But for me, it has always been LinkedIn. 270 00:20:52,884 --> 00:21:00,720 It's it's where I have always, I don't know, generated 90% of my leads in business. 271 00:21:01,119 --> 00:21:09,774 But I also like YouTube because this is where you really humanize your your presence. 272 00:21:09,774 --> 00:21:17,694 You can do it on LinkedIn as well, but YouTube is is a better platform for doing videos and 273 00:21:18,095 --> 00:21:22,414 showing your face and so people can connect with you. 274 00:21:24,230 --> 00:21:32,869 So now that we're talking about the different platforms, do you think that by having a social 275 00:21:32,869 --> 00:21:35,269 media presence well, what do you do with founders? 276 00:21:35,684 --> 00:21:37,765 Because you're we're talking about exit strategies. 277 00:21:37,765 --> 00:21:42,965 We have an entire generation of people who are just not comfortable with doing videos and and 278 00:21:42,965 --> 00:21:44,005 being Exactly. 279 00:21:44,485 --> 00:21:47,684 For exit strategy, that's and that's the thing. 280 00:21:47,899 --> 00:21:56,059 Sometimes there's I have some debate here because in one end, you want to build trust. 281 00:21:56,059 --> 00:21:57,819 You need to show your face. 282 00:21:58,220 --> 00:22:06,684 But then if you ever want to transfer the business, then there's your face all over. 283 00:22:06,765 --> 00:22:10,204 And I have seen that in some business I was evaluating. 284 00:22:10,605 --> 00:22:11,325 Say, okay. 285 00:22:11,325 --> 00:22:12,125 I thought, okay. 286 00:22:12,125 --> 00:22:15,179 So the everybody knows founder. 287 00:22:15,179 --> 00:22:19,899 So either I keep his video, I I do like it's always him. 288 00:22:19,899 --> 00:22:28,139 Maybe I clone him with AI if he agree, or all his presence won't be useful to me. 289 00:22:28,139 --> 00:22:29,099 I would have to rebuild. 290 00:22:29,684 --> 00:22:33,525 So I think there's two two way here. 291 00:22:34,404 --> 00:22:41,525 One way is just creating company, you know, business asset, you know, like a a business, 292 00:22:41,525 --> 00:22:52,669 not just your face, but some assets from the business only, like big companies will do. 293 00:22:55,230 --> 00:23:02,144 Or if you get very famous and a lot of followers and everything and you really have a 294 00:23:02,144 --> 00:23:09,664 legacy business, I mean, think about all the, I don't know, the movie stars or the singers, 295 00:23:09,664 --> 00:23:13,029 music, they are their own brand. 296 00:23:13,029 --> 00:23:16,230 And but they will they last they last. 297 00:23:16,230 --> 00:23:17,990 We still go for their music. 298 00:23:17,990 --> 00:23:22,630 We still go so it could happen to you too. 299 00:23:22,630 --> 00:23:28,205 If the let's say, the online course, if you have an online course, really bring results 300 00:23:28,205 --> 00:23:35,244 forever, people will still buy it even when you're long gone. 301 00:23:37,565 --> 00:23:48,289 So what would you say the the thing is that you would tell a business to stop spending money on 302 00:23:48,289 --> 00:23:49,170 immediately? 303 00:23:51,490 --> 00:23:54,505 Depending what they are spending on. 304 00:23:54,505 --> 00:24:01,544 But I would say, if, for example, they don't see result from an ad they are running, they 305 00:24:01,544 --> 00:24:02,744 should stop it. 306 00:24:03,384 --> 00:24:12,179 If it does not if for every $1 spent, you don't get at least $1.20, let's say, at the minimum, 307 00:24:12,179 --> 00:24:14,899 of course, you would like to get $5 or $10. 308 00:24:14,899 --> 00:24:22,674 But if it doesn't pay back the ad spent, you should stop it because you're just leaking 309 00:24:22,914 --> 00:24:25,234 rather leaking money. 310 00:24:26,355 --> 00:24:27,634 So can you give 311 00:24:27,634 --> 00:24:33,075 me an example of a client that you were able to help to be able to get, you know, get them the 312 00:24:33,075 --> 00:24:37,789 valuation that they that they were happy with? 313 00:24:39,070 --> 00:24:39,710 Yes. 314 00:24:39,710 --> 00:24:47,309 So I will get to know the business, you know, inside out. 315 00:24:47,309 --> 00:24:54,774 Like, we'll look at the numbers, but we'll look also at the operation, the acquisition engine, 316 00:24:54,775 --> 00:25:01,255 how the leads are coming from, the clients are coming from, what are the reviews, what is the 317 00:25:01,255 --> 00:25:02,054 offer. 318 00:25:02,295 --> 00:25:12,229 Can we create new offers that allow you to get more recurring revenue if you don't have any, 319 00:25:12,630 --> 00:25:21,704 improve the presence to get more visibility as a company, not especially as a founder, but as 320 00:25:21,704 --> 00:25:32,184 a company, and building some funnels that bring predictably leads. 321 00:25:33,059 --> 00:25:40,659 And depending on the offer that you have, you might have just could be you're buying we're 322 00:25:40,659 --> 00:25:47,380 buying your services directly on the website, let's say, or you will just get more calls and 323 00:25:47,965 --> 00:25:52,285 thinking about how to hand handling these calls as well. 324 00:25:52,285 --> 00:25:53,644 We will look at that. 325 00:25:54,125 --> 00:26:06,720 So it's a lot about diversifying the customer portfolio to suppress, like, the customer 326 00:26:06,720 --> 00:26:07,679 concentration. 327 00:26:07,759 --> 00:26:14,960 We need to dilute the revenue in several clients, not just a few click lie key client. 328 00:26:15,359 --> 00:26:16,934 So that's one thing. 329 00:26:17,174 --> 00:26:23,014 Having a predictable revenue engine, like, we know it works. 330 00:26:23,095 --> 00:26:29,974 We know that if we put a thousand dollars in ads, it bring us, I don't know, 5,000 in 331 00:26:29,974 --> 00:26:30,615 revenue. 332 00:26:30,615 --> 00:26:32,360 Like, proven. 333 00:26:32,360 --> 00:26:33,720 We can see it. 334 00:26:33,720 --> 00:26:37,640 It's that's second thing. 335 00:26:38,039 --> 00:26:47,335 The for the revenue quality, making sure we introduce some contract that are recurring and 336 00:26:47,335 --> 00:26:57,299 not just, you know, one off project and and documenting a maximum of of things and 337 00:26:57,299 --> 00:27:05,620 installing systems so you're not doing everything yourself or or not one of the 338 00:27:05,620 --> 00:27:07,860 employee you have is not doing everything. 339 00:27:07,860 --> 00:27:16,565 And if that person is removed, there's a lot of things we can automate today, and it's it's 340 00:27:16,565 --> 00:27:20,325 important to be automating what can be automated. 341 00:27:21,765 --> 00:27:28,269 Automation is the, I think, the biggest challenge for many business owners, ones that 342 00:27:28,269 --> 00:27:33,789 have generational there's, you know, generations that have owned the business, but 343 00:27:33,789 --> 00:27:39,644 then you have you you have just a difference in the generation. 344 00:27:39,644 --> 00:27:43,244 So you have the ones who, you know, did things a little the old way and the new the newer 345 00:27:43,244 --> 00:27:48,204 generation that wants to automate, but then you have the challenge of the two trying to, you 346 00:27:48,204 --> 00:27:51,964 know, find that that happy that happy place for all of them. 347 00:27:51,964 --> 00:27:52,125 Right? 348 00:27:52,849 --> 00:28:00,130 So what would you say are habits that separate successful founders from struggling founders? 349 00:28:02,049 --> 00:28:10,585 I would say in that era of AI and technology, like, that is changing constantly, If you don't 350 00:28:10,585 --> 00:28:13,784 step into that, it's gonna be difficult. 351 00:28:13,944 --> 00:28:19,384 And it's not just asking questions to Claude or to LGBT. 352 00:28:19,384 --> 00:28:30,230 It's really building infrastructure that are AI powered and that not only saves you time, but 353 00:28:30,230 --> 00:28:39,115 also reduce your cost because maybe you are paying an assistant for doing something 354 00:28:39,115 --> 00:28:48,529 manually while it could be done by a by a system, and that system she could be using. 355 00:28:48,529 --> 00:28:51,250 So she could be doing something else instead of that. 356 00:28:52,049 --> 00:28:57,490 So, yeah, the difference of between struggling, I think, is the AI adoption. 357 00:28:57,569 --> 00:28:57,650 Now 358 00:28:59,704 --> 00:29:03,304 what would you say we have the AI adoption. 359 00:29:04,025 --> 00:29:10,825 So for you, personally, what would you say that true business freedom means? 360 00:29:10,825 --> 00:29:12,105 What does that mean to you? 361 00:29:14,450 --> 00:29:21,009 True business freedom is being able to go on a trip, travel, and and still have a business 362 00:29:21,009 --> 00:29:22,049 that run. 363 00:29:22,529 --> 00:29:25,650 This is the just because I love traveling. 364 00:29:25,650 --> 00:29:33,535 So the first example that come, but you can really step away, go on a vacation to take some 365 00:29:33,535 --> 00:29:42,130 times off or be with your family and not have a business that run you, but business that run on 366 00:29:42,130 --> 00:29:44,369 its own for the most part. 367 00:29:45,490 --> 00:29:49,089 So you help business owners do that and get there. 368 00:29:49,970 --> 00:29:58,154 What would you say is the biggest challenge for a business owner in being able to to to let you 369 00:29:58,154 --> 00:30:00,875 help them navigate them through that? 370 00:30:02,474 --> 00:30:10,619 I am not fully sure, but what I say what I don't know if we mentioned it already, but I 371 00:30:10,619 --> 00:30:13,259 wrote a book to valuation gap. 372 00:30:13,740 --> 00:30:16,299 Actually, I have a copy right here. 373 00:30:16,299 --> 00:30:17,820 It's not for sale yet. 374 00:30:17,820 --> 00:30:22,940 Like, I cannot even resell it because it's the copy I am checking if it's good. 375 00:30:26,125 --> 00:30:38,284 This book explain exactly how to evaluate your business like a buyer would so you can fix 376 00:30:38,284 --> 00:30:40,259 what's capping your growth. 377 00:30:40,660 --> 00:30:48,420 And inside, we talk about the customer concentration, the the revenue predictability, 378 00:30:49,380 --> 00:30:54,524 the funder dependency, the revenue engine, but those are just four chapters. 379 00:30:54,524 --> 00:30:55,484 There are 11. 380 00:30:55,804 --> 00:30:59,004 So we're looking at a lot of things. 381 00:30:59,244 --> 00:31:07,409 And you can evaluate yourself, your business on every chapter. 382 00:31:07,409 --> 00:31:13,730 At the end of each chapter, you have the buyer lens, and you can evaluate where you you stand. 383 00:31:13,730 --> 00:31:20,130 And you can see here exactly what you should be fixing first. 384 00:31:21,484 --> 00:31:28,125 And at the moment, you know, since it's launching in July 27, we still have some times, 385 00:31:28,125 --> 00:31:34,764 but I it's possible to download the first chapter free on my website. 386 00:31:35,325 --> 00:31:35,884 Oh, okay. 387 00:31:36,420 --> 00:31:36,740 Yeah. 388 00:31:36,740 --> 00:31:43,859 On exit3dstudio.com/d-valuation-gap. 389 00:31:44,660 --> 00:31:45,140 Okay. 390 00:31:45,140 --> 00:31:46,579 Repeat that one more time. 391 00:31:46,980 --> 00:31:47,460 Sure. 392 00:31:47,460 --> 00:31:54,615 Exit3dstudio.com,.sign/oh, gosh. 393 00:31:54,694 --> 00:32:05,095 D-valuation-gap, or just exit3dstudio.com, clicking on the navigation bar on 394 00:32:04,399 --> 00:32:08,319 exit3dinsight, and it's written the valuation gap. 395 00:32:08,720 --> 00:32:18,005 It's possible to preorder, but also get a first chapter just to get a, you know, a first feel 396 00:32:18,005 --> 00:32:18,485 from it. 397 00:32:18,485 --> 00:32:21,125 That'll be a great little tease. 398 00:32:21,125 --> 00:32:21,605 Right? 399 00:32:21,845 --> 00:32:26,644 And we we're also gonna have that in the additional show notes for our audience. 400 00:32:26,644 --> 00:32:27,204 Okay? 401 00:32:27,605 --> 00:32:28,565 Perfect. 402 00:32:29,125 --> 00:32:35,390 So what is what is legacy mean in the context of entrepreneurship to you? 403 00:32:37,070 --> 00:32:46,590 Legacy would be that the the business still can still make sales and run once the founder 404 00:32:46,590 --> 00:32:49,874 completely is out of the picture. 405 00:32:50,515 --> 00:32:54,835 Sometimes I still I think about the the it's completely finished line. 406 00:32:54,835 --> 00:32:55,315 You know? 407 00:32:55,315 --> 00:32:59,554 Like, the the the founder is not there. 408 00:32:59,554 --> 00:33:01,714 Like, the children have the business, maybe. 409 00:33:02,769 --> 00:33:07,730 This is to build really a business that lasts. 410 00:33:09,650 --> 00:33:17,784 Well, so since we're talking about children, if someone wants to build a business and they want 411 00:33:17,784 --> 00:33:23,784 it to be a business that lasts that the you know, for assets for their family, where should 412 00:33:23,784 --> 00:33:24,584 they begin? 413 00:33:27,625 --> 00:33:29,704 To have their children take home. 414 00:33:29,704 --> 00:33:33,119 But first of all, like, do the children want that? 415 00:33:33,519 --> 00:33:44,615 That's because we see that a lot that businesses for example, 70 to 80% of businesses 416 00:33:44,615 --> 00:33:51,494 that go to market never sell because, first of all, I think a lot of the children, they want 417 00:33:51,494 --> 00:34:00,139 to be doing AI and they don't want to they can't or they want to be YouTuber or podcaster 418 00:34:00,139 --> 00:34:07,819 or other, but they don't necessarily wants to get the plumbing company or you know? 419 00:34:07,819 --> 00:34:15,364 So first, maybe for that, they will need to, I will say, prepare the business so it's easier 420 00:34:15,364 --> 00:34:24,965 to run or maybe having already an operator instead of the kid or instead of the founder. 421 00:34:25,530 --> 00:34:32,090 An operator, I mean, like a CEO, someone else, a general manager Right. 422 00:34:32,170 --> 00:34:40,650 That will run the business, the operation, everything instead of the business owner. 423 00:34:41,264 --> 00:34:49,344 So one of the things and I'm not sure if you've have read the nine figure mindset book by 424 00:34:49,344 --> 00:34:57,679 Brandon Dawson and his wife, Natalie Dawson, does a really great job with helping business 425 00:34:57,679 --> 00:35:03,840 owners to understand that, you know, it doesn't necessarily have to be that the family owns it. 426 00:35:03,840 --> 00:35:10,194 It's like really having a concept of a business that can be passed down. 427 00:35:10,194 --> 00:35:15,795 Like, so so you have employees that can actually grow within the business and, you 428 00:35:15,795 --> 00:35:21,875 know, and and and start to grow the as they're growing the business, you're giving them a 429 00:35:21,875 --> 00:35:26,690 piece of the business and being able to, you know, evaluate the business so much better 430 00:35:26,690 --> 00:35:30,289 because you're actually duplicating yourself and as an owner you don't have to be in the 431 00:35:30,289 --> 00:35:31,889 business working in the business. 432 00:35:31,889 --> 00:35:36,130 You can be working on the business and you have more freedom and flexibility. 433 00:35:36,609 --> 00:35:43,785 And so that concept is a really great one that really speaks to my soul because so many times 434 00:35:43,785 --> 00:35:49,625 I've seen over and over where people have a business, they want their families to have it, 435 00:35:49,625 --> 00:35:53,589 and then it becomes a weight that Yeah. 436 00:35:53,670 --> 00:36:00,789 Feel this obligation to continue and, you know, to to make it grow and scale this business. 437 00:36:00,789 --> 00:36:05,510 But but then there's always the challenge of how it used to be versus how you wanna do it. 438 00:36:05,510 --> 00:36:07,190 And, you know, so there's all those pieces. 439 00:36:07,190 --> 00:36:13,775 So how do you help people navigate those challenges when you come and you come to 440 00:36:13,775 --> 00:36:14,894 evaluate the business? 441 00:36:14,894 --> 00:36:19,695 Like, do you are you able to walk them through that, talk them through it, and what that looks 442 00:36:19,695 --> 00:36:25,349 like in the end by being able to maybe change structure of the business of how they have 443 00:36:25,349 --> 00:36:26,150 it set up? 444 00:36:26,550 --> 00:36:31,829 I don't know if I go that far with my background. 445 00:36:32,150 --> 00:36:39,485 I I will work more on the, let's say, the marketing and sell because I think this is what 446 00:36:39,485 --> 00:36:41,644 is the most of the problem. 447 00:36:42,285 --> 00:36:50,925 Operationally, I would think that for a lot of depending what the business do, but in service 448 00:36:50,925 --> 00:36:59,639 businesses where I specialize, I think there is a lot of tools even that can be created that 449 00:36:59,639 --> 00:37:07,664 will do that will help them do the job more easily or just have less people doing it 450 00:37:07,664 --> 00:37:09,585 because the tool is helping. 451 00:37:11,825 --> 00:37:19,585 There is we discussed this, you know, on a case by case basis in my exit three d program 452 00:37:19,585 --> 00:37:26,750 because then we know we are really preparing for sale, so we need to get this ready. 453 00:37:27,230 --> 00:37:27,789 Right. 454 00:37:27,949 --> 00:37:33,630 Before that, it might not be, you know, needed. 455 00:37:33,869 --> 00:37:38,275 Like, it's not it's not urgent to solve this. 456 00:37:39,315 --> 00:37:42,515 But, yeah, we we have to see. 457 00:37:42,835 --> 00:37:51,889 What would you say that one is one of the biggest the most important KPIs that a business 458 00:37:51,889 --> 00:37:53,489 owner needs to be tracking? 459 00:37:58,849 --> 00:38:03,089 That could be it's it's related to conversion. 460 00:38:03,170 --> 00:38:11,625 Maybe I will say the cost of to acquire a new customer, the CAC, like CAC. 461 00:38:12,824 --> 00:38:18,824 It's good for when we want to transfer the business to be able to say, okay. 462 00:38:21,320 --> 00:38:28,200 This cost that much money to get a new customer that is bringing that much revenue. 463 00:38:30,599 --> 00:38:31,159 Okay. 464 00:38:31,159 --> 00:38:31,480 Yeah. 465 00:38:31,480 --> 00:38:37,034 Because if you want more, then you just know you have to double down on on what works, could 466 00:38:37,034 --> 00:38:41,675 be ad, could be something else, and and this is predictable. 467 00:38:42,155 --> 00:38:44,635 Also, it's not just about sorry. 468 00:38:44,635 --> 00:38:52,089 It's not just about growing, but it's also ensuring that the team and the system, you 469 00:38:52,089 --> 00:39:00,570 know, can absorb more growth because you don't want to deliver bad quality. 470 00:39:00,969 --> 00:39:02,730 You don't want anything to break. 471 00:39:03,005 --> 00:39:06,925 So you have to ensure that as well. 472 00:39:07,324 --> 00:39:09,485 Check if you need to hire more people. 473 00:39:09,804 --> 00:39:17,680 So if so in the KPIs, the key performance indicators in any business, in any business 474 00:39:17,680 --> 00:39:22,640 valuation would probably be more most important to be able to track everything. 475 00:39:23,280 --> 00:39:23,760 You know? 476 00:39:23,760 --> 00:39:24,400 So Yeah. 477 00:39:24,400 --> 00:39:24,800 Yeah. 478 00:39:24,559 --> 00:39:30,239 Tracking your sales, tracking your leads, tracking your lead management, tracking your, 479 00:39:31,094 --> 00:39:33,734 you know, all of the all of the pieces. 480 00:39:33,734 --> 00:39:35,574 And the revenue quality. 481 00:39:36,295 --> 00:39:36,934 Right. 482 00:39:36,934 --> 00:39:37,655 Right. 483 00:39:37,815 --> 00:39:41,894 And so so that you know, I just wanted to leave that thought. 484 00:39:41,894 --> 00:39:46,710 Now if there were anything that you would wanna tell our audience would be maybe two to three 485 00:39:46,710 --> 00:39:51,910 teachables that would be really important for them to walk away with from our conversation, 486 00:39:51,910 --> 00:39:53,349 what would you say that is? 487 00:39:54,869 --> 00:40:00,724 I would say start by step back. 488 00:40:00,724 --> 00:40:01,364 Okay. 489 00:40:01,445 --> 00:40:02,965 Do it again. 490 00:40:03,364 --> 00:40:05,844 Step back two days from your business. 491 00:40:06,244 --> 00:40:13,289 See what breaks first, and fix this in priority. 492 00:40:13,769 --> 00:40:22,010 If that's a decision that could not be made, you need to, you know, give the knowledge to 493 00:40:22,010 --> 00:40:27,565 someone else or spread the knowledge, create more documentation. 494 00:40:29,244 --> 00:40:38,510 If that's you know, like, suddenly no more sell there is no more sales coming in, then you know 495 00:40:38,510 --> 00:40:44,349 that you have to build this acquisition engine online now. 496 00:40:44,429 --> 00:40:45,070 You know? 497 00:40:45,550 --> 00:40:46,750 Check that. 498 00:40:49,469 --> 00:40:58,835 Those are, you know, what what I could say, the the main things will be to step away to see 499 00:40:58,835 --> 00:41:05,449 what specifically in this business, what is breaking because this is what you can fix, what 500 00:41:05,449 --> 00:41:06,889 you should be fixing. 501 00:41:07,369 --> 00:41:15,849 And because the solution is not always to be more more active doing more, but sometimes it's 502 00:41:15,849 --> 00:41:18,489 to to see you step back. 503 00:41:18,489 --> 00:41:19,144 You see, okay. 504 00:41:19,144 --> 00:41:20,105 What's keep running? 505 00:41:20,105 --> 00:41:21,465 What doesn't run? 506 00:41:21,545 --> 00:41:22,265 You know? 507 00:41:23,625 --> 00:41:28,344 What would you say is one thing that you wish every entrepreneur understood? 508 00:41:31,750 --> 00:41:34,710 That we all love our business. 509 00:41:34,710 --> 00:41:37,510 Sometimes our business is too much us. 510 00:41:38,070 --> 00:41:42,309 And and I know I'm a bit guilty of that as well. 511 00:41:42,469 --> 00:41:43,349 We are all. 512 00:41:45,255 --> 00:41:55,414 But the it's to understand that if we are too close to the business, if the business is us, 513 00:41:55,414 --> 00:41:57,014 we don't have a business. 514 00:41:57,974 --> 00:42:04,369 We have a job that we cannot quit, that is stressful. 515 00:42:04,530 --> 00:42:07,409 Sometimes we don't get all the rewards. 516 00:42:07,409 --> 00:42:12,335 Sometimes we we even have to you know, we're paying team. 517 00:42:12,335 --> 00:42:23,855 But if the the the business is too much us and is not running without us, this is this is, 518 00:42:24,014 --> 00:42:26,815 yeah, a stressful job that we have. 519 00:42:28,070 --> 00:42:34,309 So if the biz if the business is not running without you so if the business isn't able to 520 00:42:34,309 --> 00:42:38,070 run without you, then you don't actually have a business. 521 00:42:38,070 --> 00:42:39,030 You have a job. 522 00:42:39,909 --> 00:42:40,309 Yeah. 523 00:42:41,505 --> 00:42:41,984 What? 524 00:42:41,984 --> 00:42:44,545 You created the that's what I would like to say. 525 00:42:44,545 --> 00:42:45,105 Yes. 526 00:42:45,424 --> 00:42:53,904 This is because a business should be you could have you know, you yes. 527 00:42:54,250 --> 00:42:59,690 If you sell your business or not, but someone else could take the business and could be his 528 00:42:59,690 --> 00:43:00,329 business. 529 00:43:00,650 --> 00:43:08,090 If it's the for the business to run, needs you need to be in the business for everything. 530 00:43:09,035 --> 00:43:09,434 Yeah. 531 00:43:09,434 --> 00:43:10,555 It's just a job. 532 00:43:11,035 --> 00:43:13,355 And, yeah, you have a lot of hat. 533 00:43:16,235 --> 00:43:16,954 What 534 00:43:18,795 --> 00:43:19,195 would you say 535 00:43:19,195 --> 00:43:20,954 is the best investment you've ever made? 536 00:43:22,859 --> 00:43:24,219 The best investment? 537 00:43:24,219 --> 00:43:32,059 I think at the time was when I was running my business. 538 00:43:33,179 --> 00:43:37,019 I was doing I had, like, my mini marketing agency. 539 00:43:37,394 --> 00:43:39,635 I had my clients, everything. 540 00:43:39,954 --> 00:43:46,275 And it was too dependent on me, too stressful, and I made that investment in a program to 541 00:43:46,275 --> 00:43:51,795 learn how to make my online course, my online training and coaching program. 542 00:43:51,795 --> 00:43:59,920 And this has been a great change, you know, because instead of doing the job for my client, 543 00:43:59,920 --> 00:44:06,574 my clients were able to do it themselves, and I was just coaching them and helping them, which 544 00:44:06,574 --> 00:44:08,494 gave me a lot more freedom. 545 00:44:08,734 --> 00:44:14,255 So I think that this was a great investment at the time. 546 00:44:15,375 --> 00:44:18,255 Worst worst business advice you've ever received? 547 00:44:20,420 --> 00:44:26,660 Oh, worst business advice I've I don't wanna say that one. 548 00:44:26,900 --> 00:44:28,579 I don't wanna say it. 549 00:44:29,460 --> 00:44:37,335 But maybe it's the fact to as an entrepreneur, to go try to buy the business, to buy a 550 00:44:37,335 --> 00:44:39,095 business you haven't built. 551 00:44:39,494 --> 00:44:44,135 And sometimes, I feel it's finding a needle. 552 00:44:44,135 --> 00:44:45,974 Do you have that expression in English? 553 00:44:45,974 --> 00:44:49,815 Like, finding a needle in a big Haystack. 554 00:44:50,300 --> 00:44:51,260 Yes. 555 00:44:52,300 --> 00:44:56,859 70 I say it three times in this podcast. 556 00:44:56,859 --> 00:45:04,059 70 to 80% of businesses that go to market never sell is for good reason. 557 00:45:04,219 --> 00:45:12,195 It's because a lot lot of businesses that go for sale are actually what we call turnaround 558 00:45:12,195 --> 00:45:13,315 opportunity. 559 00:45:13,715 --> 00:45:16,914 You pay, but you have to rebuild it. 560 00:45:16,914 --> 00:45:20,789 So instead of doing that, I think just build a business. 561 00:45:20,789 --> 00:45:28,309 Build a good one so those who does not hear this podcast could be, you know, buying your 562 00:45:28,309 --> 00:45:29,190 business eventually. 563 00:45:32,065 --> 00:45:33,425 That's so good. 564 00:45:34,224 --> 00:45:39,824 What would you say you have written a book. 565 00:45:39,824 --> 00:45:44,864 So what would you say is a good book for every entrepreneur to read? 566 00:45:46,710 --> 00:45:49,269 Another good book besides mine? 567 00:45:49,349 --> 00:45:50,070 Mhmm. 568 00:45:51,590 --> 00:45:52,150 Okay. 569 00:45:52,150 --> 00:45:56,710 We talked about, like, founder dependency and things like this. 570 00:45:56,789 --> 00:46:01,110 I think those two books from, like, Greg McKeon, I really liked. 571 00:46:01,235 --> 00:46:04,515 Like, the essentialism and the effortless. 572 00:46:05,315 --> 00:46:10,195 How to run a a business that is yeah. 573 00:46:10,195 --> 00:46:14,434 You you see how you only take the good decision. 574 00:46:14,434 --> 00:46:17,780 You only go where you are really needed. 575 00:46:17,780 --> 00:46:23,059 You don't bother with the with the fluff. 576 00:46:23,059 --> 00:46:25,619 Maybe sometime I should read them again. 577 00:46:26,099 --> 00:46:27,860 But I like those two books. 578 00:46:27,940 --> 00:46:30,180 But, actually, I like them all. 579 00:46:30,180 --> 00:46:34,364 But those two books are good for frontal dependency. 580 00:46:34,844 --> 00:46:35,644 I love that. 581 00:46:35,644 --> 00:46:42,844 That's that's actually really good advice there because you have to in order for you to be 582 00:46:43,085 --> 00:46:48,489 better and different and and learn something else, have to either be reading or taking 583 00:46:48,489 --> 00:46:53,449 courses or doing something to grow yourself or be around a circle that's gonna help you to 584 00:46:53,449 --> 00:46:55,050 elevate yourself and grow. 585 00:46:55,530 --> 00:46:58,795 And so so Muriel, I wanna thank you so much. 586 00:46:58,954 --> 00:47:06,394 And, let's just reiterate to our audience what is the the thing that how would they, you know, 587 00:47:06,394 --> 00:47:09,434 wanna reach out to you, find you, do business with you? 588 00:47:10,299 --> 00:47:12,780 What would be the way in which they would reach you? 589 00:47:13,579 --> 00:47:14,219 Sure. 590 00:47:14,299 --> 00:47:17,019 The best way to find me is on LinkedIn. 591 00:47:17,260 --> 00:47:19,500 So my name, Marielle Twetty. 592 00:47:19,500 --> 00:47:20,940 You'll find me on LinkedIn. 593 00:47:20,940 --> 00:47:22,940 You can send me a connection request. 594 00:47:23,574 --> 00:47:31,974 Then there is my website, exit3dstudio.com, where you can discover how I can help and also 595 00:47:31,974 --> 00:47:34,855 download the first chapter of my book. 596 00:47:35,494 --> 00:47:45,539 And I have just created a new YouTube channel where actually I have I put all the podcast I 597 00:47:45,539 --> 00:47:48,579 appear on, like, all the interview in one playlist. 598 00:47:49,155 --> 00:47:51,795 So I have created that new YouTube channel. 599 00:47:51,795 --> 00:47:59,954 I it's called exit three d insights, and you can, you know, follow the journey there. 600 00:47:59,954 --> 00:48:08,200 I also share some tips and some sort of video, a bit like a podcast, but just for YouTube. 601 00:48:10,840 --> 00:48:12,840 So thank you so much for being here. 602 00:48:12,840 --> 00:48:13,800 Thank you, Catherine. 603 00:48:14,405 --> 00:48:20,804 Mural, if you wanted our listeners to remember one thing about our conversation today about 604 00:48:20,804 --> 00:48:25,925 growing, scaling, and eventually exiting your business, what would you want that lesson to 605 00:48:25,925 --> 00:48:26,085 be? 606 00:48:28,139 --> 00:48:36,139 Focus on like, ensure that your business can run without you. 607 00:48:38,299 --> 00:48:39,579 That's a big one. 608 00:48:40,059 --> 00:48:41,260 That's right there. 609 00:48:41,260 --> 00:48:49,684 That that's that's hard to achieve, but with the right help and getting the book, you know, 610 00:48:49,684 --> 00:48:55,045 and reading also those great book that I mentioned before, they can help you. 611 00:48:56,579 --> 00:49:01,220 So, Muriel, I wanna thank you so much for the time that you've given us and given our 612 00:49:01,220 --> 00:49:05,539 audience today and just for all of this great information about exit strategies. 613 00:49:05,539 --> 00:49:10,885 Because I will tell you, that is probably one of the most important things is to know how to 614 00:49:10,885 --> 00:49:15,444 evaluate your business and be able to get to the place where you're not working in the 615 00:49:15,444 --> 00:49:22,340 business, but on the business so that you can actually have freedom and not a job because the 616 00:49:22,340 --> 00:49:25,460 purpose of going into business is not to have a job. 617 00:49:25,460 --> 00:49:28,420 It's to actually have a business that creates value. 618 00:49:28,980 --> 00:49:30,820 And, and so I just thank you. 619 00:49:30,820 --> 00:49:33,380 Thank you so much for being with us here today. 620 00:49:33,699 --> 00:49:38,684 And for all of our audience, we just wanna thank you so much for listening and hopefully 621 00:49:38,684 --> 00:49:40,284 this was of value to you. 622 00:49:40,525 --> 00:49:44,925 And again, this is Catherine, your host with the Beyond Business Podcast. 623 00:49:45,085 --> 00:49:50,764 Excited to have been here sharing exit strategies today with Muriel Tucci. 624 00:49:52,679 --> 00:49:53,960 Thank you, Catherine. 625 00:49:53,960 --> 00:50:00,199 That was great sharing this interview with you today. 626 00:50:01,639 --> 00:50:03,400 Have an amazing day, everyone.