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...

 By Cheryl Powers

There's an untold story in the bustling alleys of entrepreneurship, a tale of owner wealth. Often overshadowed by giant corporations and tech unicorns, these owners occupy a golden space. 

They're neither too small to be overwhelmed nor too big to be impersonal. And if you ever want to witness the art of growth and personal wealth generation, this is where the magic happens.

When I work with entrepreneurs and business owners, there's a notion I have always emphasized: the en...

 By Cheryl Powers

If you’re like many of our business owner clients, your company is not just a source of income; it's your largest and most significant asset. Often, the value of your business comprises the lion's share of your personal net worth. 

Personal net worth represents the difference between an individual's assets and liabilities. For business owners, the equity value of their business often makes up a significant portion of these assets. However, it's not uncommon for owners to misj...