By Cheryl Powers

Most founders say they want to get lucky.

They want the right buyer to appear, the right leader to join, the right customer to expand, the right market window to open, the right offer to arrive before energy, timing, or health changes the options available to them.

That kind of luck does exist. But it is not the kind most owners should be waiting for.

The more useful kind of luck is built before the opportunity arrives. It's built in the years when no one is watching, when t...

By Cheryl Powers

Most business owners explain success through effort. The real story is often far more complicated and far more useful.

Timing is one of the most powerful forces in business and one of the least acknowledged.

Not simply because founders often don't see it. But because acknowledging it threatens the story you most want to believe about yourself. Success feels better when it appears fully earned. It reinforces the idea that outcomes were the direct result of intelligence, discip...

By Cheryl Powers

Founders talk about luck as if it comes from outside the business. In reality, a surprising amount of luck is built from the inside through cleaner systems, better people, tighter priorities, stronger margins, and fewer invisible leaks in cash flow, compliance, and execution.

Luck Doesn't Just Arrive as Opportunity

A lot of owners say they want to get lucky.

What they usually mean is that they want the right customer, the right hire, the right buyer, the right market window,...

By Cheryl Powers

Hard work is one of the easiest things for founders to overcredit because it's one of the few things they know with certainty was real.

They remember the long hours they spent building the business. The payroll stress. The customer problems they absorbed before anyone else saw them. The quarters they held together through force of will. The years they carried too much because no one else was ready to.

That part is real. Which is exactly why it becomes dangerous.

The probl...

By Cheryl Powers

Founders who explain success through grit alone usually miss what actually built the business and what may be quietly limiting its value now.

Hard work matters. But timing, structure, readiness, and founder dependence shape business outcomes far more than most owners want to admit, especially when it’s time to scale, transfer, or sell.

A founder sits across from me, proud, tired, and faintly irritated.

On paper, he’s done everything right. He built the company from almost no...

By Cheryl Powers

In a notable transaction last year, Darden Restaurants, the entity behind Olive Garden, disclosed its acquisition of Ruth's Chris Steak House for $715 million. This figure pegged the valuation at approximately one times the preceding year's annual revenue, translating to around ten times the adjusted EBITDA for 2022. While impressive for a corporation of its stature, the valuation metrics for Ruth's Chris may have been somewhat constrained by its absence of a recurring revenue ...

By Cheryl Powers

In business, bigger often seems better. We applaud companies bursting with staff and swelling their revenues year over year. But if you're steering your business toward the day you can sell it for a healthy profit, you'll need more than just piling on sales. You could be growing, sure, but not in ways that actually up your company's worth. Sometimes, this kind of growth could even hurt your value.

The Real Deal About Growth and Value

Let's get straight to the point: When th...

By Cheryl Powers

A Success Story from the Trenches: Breedlove & Associates' Journey

Imagine beginning a small payroll business from your home office, self-funding its growth, and then, two decades later, selling it for an astonishing six times the revenue. This is not a Silicon Valley fairy tale but the real success story of Stephanie Breedlove and her company, Breedlove & Associates. Starting in 1992, Breedlove grew her company by an average of 20% annually, focusing on a niche market - payro...

By Cheryl Powers

The Key to Premium Enterprise Value: Autonomy from Ownership

With all of its crispness and snowy goodness, winter is the perfect time to increase your company's value. 

Top-tier companies are distinguished by their ability to operate independently of their owners. This autonomy is a critical factor in enterprise value; businesses running on autopilot command premium prices, while those overly reliant on their owners face significant valuation discounts. Removing yourself from...

By Cheryl Powers

As Thanksgiving approaches, it's a time for reflection and gratitude, not just in our personal lives but in our businesses, too. This season offers a unique opportunity for business owners and founders to cultivate a thriving environment that adds value to their leadership, employees, and customers. Here's how you can harvest success this Thanksgiving and create a business that’s valuable on all fronts.

Cultivating an Engaged Workforce

An engaged workforce is the bedrock of...