The Ambitious Bookkeeper Podcast

198 ⎸ Building toward an Exit with Maggie Lord

• Serena Shoup, CPA • Episode 198

Share episode

Send us a text

In this episode of the Ambitious Bookkeeper Podcast, Serena chats with Maggie Lord, a powerhouse entrepreneur who sold her media company to David's Bridal and now helps female founders do the same. Maggie shares her journey from starting a wedding blog in 2008 to selling her company 12 years later, and reveals insider knowledge about business valuations, exit strategies, and how bookkeepers play a crucial role in preparing businesses for sale.

In this episode you’ll hear:

  • Why Maggie is passionate about helping female founders prepare their businesses for acquisition
  • The three common scenarios when founders seek M&A help
  • How bookkeepers play a key role in successful M&A transactions
  • Beyond-the-numbers valuation factors that founders often overlook

Resources mentioned in this episode:

Meet Maggie

Maggie Lord was an early pioneer in the online digital wedding media space establishing her media company, Rustic Wedding Chic in 2008. As the founder + CEO of Rustic Wedding Chic, Maggie led the company for 12 years before it was acquired by David’s Bridal in 2020. Maggie is also the author of 6 books. Today, Maggie has become a sought-after strategic advisor to female founded brands allowing her to focus on sharing her knowledge and expertise with other like minded entrepreneurs, startups and small businesses. Maggie and her businesses have been featured in Forbes, The New York Times, Business Insider, Success Magazine and much more. Maggie is a partner at The Whisper Group, working daily with female founders to help them sell their companies and close the exit gap.

Connect with Maggie

📱 IG: https://www.instagram.com/maggielordandcompany/

🌐 Website: https://maggielord.com/

Thanks for listening. If this episode inspired you in some way, take a screenshot of you listening on your device and post it to your Instagram stories and tag me @ambitiousbookkeeper

For more information about the Ambitious Bookkeeper Podcast or interest in our programs or mentoring visit our resources below:

Thank you for your support of our show. If you haven’t left a review yet it’s super simple. Please go to ambitiousbookkeeper.com/podcast and leave your review.

Podcast Publishing Tools we use:

To fill out The State of Virtual Bookkeeping Survey, click HERE.

For each response, I'll be donating $1 to charity: water. Learn more here.

Join the next free training at ambitiousbookkeeper.com/training

If you ever wondered what it really takes to sell a business and walk away with a win. In this episode, I'm talking with powerhouse entrepreneur, Maggie Lorde, who sold her media company to David's Bridal and now helps female founders do the same. We are pulling back the curtain on business valuations, exit strategy prep, and how you as a bookkeeper play a crucial role in it all. So if you've ever dreamed of building something worth selling, this one is for you. Welcome back to the Ambitious Bookkeeper Podcast. Today I have another special guest. This is Maggie Lorde. We got connected through a new client of mine. who was kind of, is. Kinda getting ready to sell her business and wanting to. And so, yeah, it's just a really great connection and, we can kind of talk about how that kind of came to be. But welcome Maggie. Thank you for coming on the podcast. I'm super excited to have you share your expertise with our listeners. Thank you. Thank you for having me. Yeah. So, before we get into it, go ahead and introduce yourself, who you are, how you help people, and then we'll go from there. Great. Yes. So as you said, I'm Maggie Lorde and, in addition to being an entrepreneur and a businesswoman, I am a mom of three boys. So I live this very full life both, at, at work, but also, at home as well. So when I was 26 years old, I started, what I didn't know was gonna become a media company. I started very simple with a blog platform. It was 2008, so it was a long time ago, and I was engaged to my now husband and I was trying to plan a wedding long distance from where we were having it. And it was very difficult for me. There was not as many resources as there is today. So very quickly my company, I mean within. Months turned into just what I was doing behind the scenes for something for my own wedding, turned into a company. I had zero business plan. I did not modeled things out. I did not expect it to generate the revenue that it did, but I decided to just jump on and see what happened and rode this crazy wave with it. was very fortunate enough to lead the company for the next 12 years where we had phenomenal readership, wonderful revenue, but we also licensed our name to product. And I wrote six books, along the way and all that other good stuff for the company, which led me to the point where I was able to actually sell it to David's bridle in 2020. Which leads me to where I am today, which is helping other female founders prep their business. To get ready to exit. and then actually helping them as they go through that journey of looking to be acquired. And I will say it is the most fulfilling and rewarding work that I have ever done in my career. Oh, that's amazing. So that, that obviously is how we got connected. I had a relatively new client come on board and she was already working with you and, then we hopped on a call and chatted because it's like, I could definitely like. Spread the word about you on my podcast because I talk to bookkeepers and accountants and we are generally one of the first lines of defense for lots of things, including clients selling and buying businesses. Yes, absolutely. I talked to a lot of bookkeepers. I mean, I'm a firm believer that if it's not within your skillset, it's best to outsource it and find that professional who can support you. And I fully agree with your mission was that when entrepreneurs know their numbers right, they have a lot more power and it's something that comes up. Especially since I work with female founders who don't feel secure, that they fully understand the whole scope of their business. Yeah, and I think that's like a common. It's definitely common in my female clients as well. I feel like it could be common among male clients, but I don't think they admit it. That's, that's a good point. I only work with female founders now because I, there really wasn't somebody I was. Too small for a broker. And yet I knew my, my business had value to it. And so there was really nobody to, to reach a handout and say, I can help you with this. I've been through this before. That wasn't gonna charge me astronomical fees and all these other things. So that's why I was so passionate about getting into this space. Yeah. So when and how do people typically find you? Would like when they think they wanna sell or does that usually work? usually most women that I work with find me a, almost all of it is word of mouth, which is great or great things like, like a podcast like this, but they come to me when they've already made the decision and they're ready. So it is like, that's one typical type of client. They're like, I've made up my mind. I wanna, I wanna go for an acquisition, but I don't know how to do it. The other client comes to me when they're totally burnt out or their business is on a decline, and they're like, this is my last thing that I, I, I, I'm, I'm gonna try to see if it's worth something. That's obviously not the best position to be in. But I, I do have a group of clients and women who have come to me who are smart enough to identify that they're not ready to exit now, but what do they need to do for the next 12, 24, 36, whatever their timeline is in order to maximize their deal value when they get there and, and have it the valuation that they really want. So those are kind of, there's three buckets that I, that I feel people come to me in. Yeah. Awesome. So. I was excited to have you on the podcast because I was like, well, yeah, there's, I talked to lots of bookkeepers and accountants and, not everybody has a resource like yourself to refer people to when it comes to, like, if their client asks them, Hey, like, I wanna sell my business, what do I do? Or I wanna buy a business, what do I do? So I was super ecstatic to have you on the podcast to share your expertise. So what are some of the signs, like for our listeners, if, they're seeing clients, we have a inside look to their numbers. So what are some of the signs that position people in a really good spot to sell, that our bookkeepers can kind of keep an eye out for. I think one of the major things to look for is making sure that if, if you are profitable. Right. And if you understand what your profit margin is, this is really good when you go into a negotiation or when you're starting to shop your company around. I have seen companies sell for as little as $20,000 and that's great. And the, owner was happy. And then there's other multimillion dollar deals too. So there's a couple of things. One, that profitability is important also, I find a lot of founders don't know. Where their, expenses are, right? They like, 'cause a lot of times they'll look at their p and l and it'll say, legal fees. Well, what did that mean? Was your own personal legal fees in there for something? You know, they, they sometimes don't chunk it out. And any person who's gonna acquire you. Only wants to see what is relatable to the business. And sometimes if that's messy because a lot of, and probably women that you work with, a lot of founders, there's a lot of crossover in personal and business expenses, but understanding that is gonna be critical when having negotiations. Yeah, so if you're a bookkeeper listening, this could be like a selling point, a positioning point for you as a firm to like, you know, not only do clients get peace of mind by working with you, but you help them keep their business and personal separate. We drill that into our clients, like as soon as they sign on with us, it's like they're gonna check a box and acknowledge. Like they're not co-mingling and we talk about what that is. And it's unfortunate because there's a lot of like, I guess TikTok advice and stuff where, where people are like, you can ride off your entire life if you own a business. And it's like, okay, hold like pump the brakes for a. Well, so true. we go to these sources like TikTok and other things, and we take that information as whether it's credible or not. We, a lot of people don't dig in, so. Having someone who understands not just what the numbers are monthly, right? Having a great bookkeeper who tells you every month, but having someone that you can ask good detailed questions to is important. You know, as a bookkeeper, if you're going into acquisition, that CEO really needs to have their deal team together, and a lot of times that is me as your m and a advisor, but it also is your bookkeeper because a many, many, many times. The acquiring company, they speak directly to whoever is, that's running your finances. Right. That, that, and it, it can go around the, the CEO doesn't even need to be involved in that part of it. bookkeepers play a critical role in making sure that the m and a activity actually gets across the finish line. Yeah. With the one particular client, I'm working with, there's been so far, one, Time that I, you know, like she's been like, okay, I have a potential buyer. Like, can you load the financials into the, you know, the folder or whatever. So that's one, thing for any bookkeeper listening, wondering like, , what does the process look like? It's not like going through an audit. It's, it's, don't be afraid. and the other thing too is, I don't know if this is your stance, but from a perspective of. There's a balance between giving a lot of detail so that there's not very many questions, which that's like how you take, that's how you go through an audit. Whereas an m and a, it's like, let's give them the, the summarized stuff first, and if they want the detail, they'll ask for it. So that's always my approach. I'm like, well, let's give it to them summarized, and if they want more detail, they can ask for it. And a lot of people don't think about that because in m and a, like, we'll put together your data room, which is what you know after someone has signed an NDA. They look at your financials, your org chart, all these things. And a lot of times I have founders who wanna go above and beyond and try to get everything in there. And I'm like, that's so much work for you and there's a chance that this acquirer doesn't even ask for that. Doesn't even look that. So you've spent time and effort on things that you didn't need to. I agree. I'm always like, let's start with a base and whatever question they all, If some things are industry specific, so if you have different acquirers, they might not even ask, you know, for certain things, so I always say, let's just give it to 'em, whatever. They're gonna send us a list of questions and then we'll go out and get that information. Yeah. And it's not until you get to the point where you're like negotiating, where they're doing due diligence and that's when they're gonna really dig in. So if it's like an initial, you have a client come to you and, and they're like, oh, I have someone that's interested in buying my business. What should I provide them? If, especially if they're like. Kind of new to this, or maybe the person that wants to buy their business isn't even working with a broker or anything. So it's like to the blind leading the blind. So true. It is. Yes. And and it's true like a lot of, most of the founders I work with, this is their first time through a sale, right? So it's all new to them. So you can put together your data room, which is, I always like put it in terms of like dating, right? Like it's a way to kind of entice them, right? It's a nice, lovely conversation. They get to see a little bit about your company, but you're not gonna actually give them all of the information in such detail until. They've expressed so much interest that like you're really at a letter of intent sort of, space. Yeah, absolutely. What kind of businesses do you typically work? Walk, founders through selling? Is there a specific industry that you're, that you mainly work with or. I'm, it's really across the board I have. Digital media companies, which, especially anything in the wedding vertical, I get a ton of, attention because I was in the wedding vertical space. But the digital media space, I have CPG brands, I have, professional services. Someone, you know, if they do like, like I had bookkeepers who want to sell and have their. Company be rolled up under others, email marketing companies. So I, I mean, I, it's all over the place. And I, I never say no to, an industry, even if it's not my first language. I have enough networking, to be able to provide assistance to help them get down the road as far as I can. Awesome. Can you explain what CPG is? Yeah. Okay. So, and I should actually clarify like I have. Consumer packaging goods is what CPG is. But I, and I have like food and beverage, right? I have B2B businesses, I have, so business to business, business to consumer, B2C brands. So they're really all over the place. I'd say the only common thread is that about two or three years ago, I just decided that I really only wanted to work with female founders, that that's where my passion lives, and nobody was around to help me, and so I wanted to help them. So that's the common thread. you mentioned that you have like enough of a network to like, make sure everyone gets the assistance that they need. So have you built like a team around you of like if a client or someone comes to you and they don't, they haven't worked with a broker or anything, you have brokers that you work with and things like that? Absolutely. So one of the best things I did a little while ago was I merged with Carrie Kirkin, who has the Whisper group, and I was doing the very same thing at Maggie Lord and Company, and we kind of can, you know, merged and made our efforts one because we, we kept doing the same thing in servicing women the same way and. Yes, we have connections with brokers and a lot of times the women we work with don't even need a broker. We, you know, they can facilitate their own exit the way I did. We help them, we can represent them and get them in front of the acquirers that we think would be a fit. But one of the best things about the Whisper group is it's not just me. We, there are other advisors. So when you. Come into the whisper group, I get to decide what advisor's the right fit for you. And that might be based on industry niche healthcare marketing, right? That that would need a very specific person. It also depends on the size of your deal. Are you a $2 million deal or a $20 million deal or a $20,000 deal, right? That depends on what advisor. But we have these wonderful advisors who all have, are exited female founders who are in all these different industries and sold for all across the board in funds. So that's what I think is the best thing. Oh, that's amazing. you mentioned that you merged with WIS Whisper Group., do you help people through mergers as well? Yeah. Yes, yes, for sure. So I still do some work with Maggie Lord and Company, and those are, you know, mainly clients who are going through more of the growth stages of their companies. And then I try to push everybody over. When they're ready to exit to work with the Whisper group.'cause we've just put together such a phenomenal program and a way to help them. But yes, there's, sometimes it's just an acquisition. There's a lot of mergers. We also at the Whisper Group can help female founders who want to buy a company in order to make their company larger. Right. So that is a service that we're providing as well. Awesome. So any anyone listening that wants to acquire a book of fitness that might be a plate, a resource to go sounding? It sounds like you work with lots of different industries, so Yeah. Awesome. So when, I guess I kind of want to go back a little bit 'cause we're throwing around some terminology that some people might be like, whoa, I feel like I just stepped into like, the room with, I don't know, but, This is how y'all get exposed to things like this is being in the room with, different conversations. So can you ex kind of explain like the, a lot of the terminology that we've talked about, like a merger versus an acquisition and that maybe the different types of mergers and acquisitions. Yeah, so there's a lot of things and phrases, and to be honest, when I even started my own journey for selling my company, I did not have the vocabulary, and it was one of the things that really intimidated me. And so now when I work with women, I'm like, don't worry, I got you. If they throw a phrase at you in a meeting, I can cover it. I know what they're talking about. You don't 'cause it. You feel like you've lost negotiation power. If you raise your hand, you're like, I don't understand what you're talking about, which I'm, I tell everyone, if you don't know what they're saying, stop and ask them. It doesn't make you look stupid. It makes you actually look powerful because you wanna answer it correctly. But there is a lot of terminology. So there's a couple of different ways of an acquisition where. Some companies will look at a strategic acquisition, right? Meaning this company offers a service that's slightly similar to what we offer, or it's, or we service a customer, at this position in their journey. And by acquiring this company, it's gonna elongate that, that relationship with the customer. So that's more of a strategic, right? And then there's other ones where a competitor will buy someone to have them out of the space. Right. And so that they don't have to worry about them. There's financial acquisitions where a company says, by acquiring this company, we're going to add way more to our bottom line. so that is, and then a mergers is, and like roll-ups and all these other things are really looking at, okay, we're gonna bring in your book of business. We're rolling up all similar type of companies under one larger business, even though they then operate independently. Good to have that base knowledge.'cause I know, I mean, a lot of my listeners are coming from corporate, but a lot of 'em are self-taught bookkeepers, and so I just want to expand everybody's knowledge around this area so that, so people aren't intimidated, because you might end up coming across a client that wants to sell and then they're asking you for information. They're talking about data rooms, and you're like, what? What is all that I know and it's, it is a kind of a barrier and a wall that I am trying to knock down and, and remind the founders that I work with. Like, if you've never sold your business, this is not a language you would've bothered to learn. So don't worry about it. We'll, we'll learn it as we go. Yeah. And even like we learn, I learned about it in my accounting degree and a little bit on the CPA exam and stuff, but also. That was forever ago. Yeah. I dealt with a little bit of it in corporate, but not everybody, you know, gets exposed to that kind of stuff, so, Yep, exactly. So do you have like a super success story of anyone that you've worked with? Obviously your own, but is there any like. I don't know, a case study that comes to mind that you're like, this was a really cool deal and because this person worked with me, they were able to get more out of their company or The thing that comes to mind the most about like the wins or the successes of helping females founders sell is more the ones who they didn't even see the value in their company in the beginning, right? Like, they know it's worth something, but they, everybody asks like, do you really think I could get that for the company? And I'm like, yeah. What, what we have, the worst they can do is say no. You know? Like we're gonna build your valuation based on revenue or multiples or whatever else, but you have to show up to the table and believe it too. And so I think my proudest successes are those ones who came to me in the beginning and like, I would love a million dollars for my company, but I'm sure that's crazy. And I'm like, well, why? Let's look at the numbers. Let's look at who you are in the space. Let's look at how long you've been in business. You know? And so then when they realize that it's worth. what they were dreaming of. That's when I get really, really, really happy. What are some of the steps people take to increase that valuation, potential in their company? So I think a lot of times they don't understand that evaluation is, is your hardcore numbers, right? That you, you can put into software and you find out, you know, based on your numbers, what your valuation is. But that's just one piece of the puzzle. A lot of founders don't stop to think about that. Like it is super important. Like if you're doing $500,000 a year in revenue, are you gonna sell for $10 million? Probably not, but you have to build in other things. What about your social presence? Right? What does your social media following look like? How many years have you been in business? What niche are you in? are you a master networker and you're out at every conference? Like, those are things that add value to the company that you need to be able to put a dollar amount on, and you have to be able to explain it, right? Anybody who's gonna acquire you wants to know how we got to this valuation, but. It is something that I think, well, I would say probably 99% of founders when they come to me, they don't, they haven't looked at the full picture yet to come up with what their valuation is. Yeah, basically they're just assuming, it's just the hard numbers that are in their accounting software that determine totally. And they come to me with the same thing. Oh, well this is the revenue I'm at. the common multiples in my industry are, you know, this 3%, 5%, whatever it is. And all of that is valuable. And we look at all of that, but I also challenge them to look outside of that as well. Yeah. So that's like the starting point basically. so, if someone has like , a company for example, that. Is very profitable, but they haven't really grown it and it's just kind of stagnant. in what ways would you, I. Have them look at that in like in ways to increase the valuation. Does it require them to continue to grow or show some sort of growth? Does it require them to hire, does it require them to like not be doing some of the work? Like what are some of those levers that get pulled? I mean, growth is lovely 'cause you're gonna maximize your valuation by showing your increased growth year over year, but. I mean, if you're on a decline, it's a harder story to tell. But there are successes there too, right? I, lifestyle change, I've just had my third kid I wanna get out of my business or it's declined because we don't have the financial resources to put into the demand for inventory that we have. So. Sometimes decline is okay. This just about the storytelling. having year over year growth is a lovely weapon in your tool chest when you go to negotiate. however, I work with a lot of founders who, it's a very small company, very small team, and I do let them know that the number one concern at a very small company like that is that the acquirer's gonna say how much of this business and business revenue is. Because of you. Like if you were removed from the company, will this company be able to continue to function, add revenue, and that it's a common. I wouldn't say problem, but it's an issue that we need to talk about when we're positioning a company for sale. Because you, you may need to say, oh, it's me right now, but these are the hires I would make. I have systems and processes in place in case I get hit by a bus. The company will run successfully without me. You know, systems and processes are. Important. They don't have to be overwhelming. but for someone who I never even had put together my brand Bible 'cause I was just too busy running the company. It was a major headache come sale time when I had to transfer everything that was in my head onto paper in order to get the company to be able to transfer ownership. I. Yeah. And speaking of transferring ownership, what does that look like in some situations? I. Know the client that I am working with, she's not planning on completely exiting, right? It's more of like she would still stay on board to do a certain function in the business that she enjoys. I mean that, I think that's the most common and like within that storytelling, like why do you wanna exit the business? I mean, it's like number one question that we, when we sit down to chat and. I think a lot of times people say, I'm doing everything. I'm wearing every hat, and I only like the marketing, or I only like the sales, or whatever. It's, and that's perfectly okay to say. I think if you're the CEO of a company, whether it's big or small, we hesitate to say that we don't like all sections of it, but I think that's totally fine. Or you say, I'm a creative person, I have no. I don't wanna look at another spreadsheet with numbers on it. Sometimes when you get acquired, they will, there's all different ways that it can come together, but they'll bring you on as an employee and you run the company the way you were before. It's just you have somebody above you. Right. Or they'll come on and they'll say, we're gonna merge our companies and your team is gonna absorb half the work and our original team is gonna absorb some of the work. you know, so there's a lot of different ways. Some people stay on as a consultant, but they, they exit from the day to day of the business. So there's a lot of different ways it can. Happen. And I encourage people to stay open through negotiations. sometimes there's an earnout, which means you get some cash upfront, but then you are responsible for driving revenue for the new company and hitting those targets to get to extract the rest of your payout from the sale. But I tell people, go into it being open-minded. Unless it's more of a fire sale, which is like, I have two months left to run this business, or I'm out of money. And in that case you might just have to take whatever deal comes your way, depending on how desperate you are. But I encourage people to go in with an open mind. Yeah, that's a really good point. Have you ever had a client. I'm sure you have at this point, but have you ever had a client come to you and say like, I'm ready to sell. What does it look like? Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. And so then you start working together and then like halfway through working together, they're like, well, since I'm putting all these things in place, maybe it's fine if I stay. but yeah, so people going through the process with you and then putting systems and processes in place and then realizing, oh, maybe it's not so bad. Maybe I can hang in there. Like, have you had that happen? I've had it happen a few times, not, it's certainly not the majority.'cause I, again, when women come to me, I feel like they've already made up their mind that they're gonna sell. What I have had happen is women realize that when we get into the numbers of things, that there's a real opportunity that they haven't been maximizing their income, their revenue, because we like, through some of the conversations, I'll say, well, what are ways that this new potential company could, you know, add revenue streams? And all of a sudden that founder's like spouting like five and 10 different ways for potential growth. And I'm like, so why aren't you doing this? And they're like, oh, well, I could launch a course, I could do an online community. I could do, you know, x, y, Z thing. And so I've had it happen a few times where they, not that they didn't sell in the end, but they started to put some of those things into place while they were looking for an acquisition , to strengthen their case of why they are a good acquisition. I'm always curious about that. I'm sure you've. Read the book and probably recommended it to people, but built to Sell Yeah. There's an example of that in that book where it's like, okay, well once you get all these things in place, like, and you can be removed from the company, then it's just an annuity basically. Founders I work with had not put together what their exit plan looks like. and a lot of times it's because they're really happy in their company, which is great. And so they don't think about the next phase. And it's something that I didn't put a lot of attention in my own company into until I had this like thought one day where I was like. Wait a minute, am I gonna be doing this when I'm like 60? Like, I don't think so. And then I was like, wait, this is also like the kid who lives in your basement and doesn't go to college. Like it's not reaching its full potential, right? Like I've, I've, I've taken it and I've grown it so much over 12 years, but there is a cap of what small team that we could do, it needed to go live under a bigger umbrella. And I think that's when a lot of. you think about exit planning then, but if I had, I would've put things into place differently if I had thought about it two years before I actually sold. Yeah. So is that like two years? Is that like kind of the sweet spot for a lot of people to start thinking about the exit plan and getting things in place? I. I think two years is good. I would say the founders that I deal with the most who come to me and they say, okay, I know I wanna sell. I don't wanna sell right now 'cause I wanna maximize my valuation. They're looking at 12 months because most of them are like, I'm not burnt out yet, or, I am not planning on having another kid yet. But all those things are like down the road and 12 months feels very doable for them and it's very doable to make big changes within the company to, in order to get it perfectly right to sell. Yeah, that's good to know. I've always, since, pretty much, not since the beginning of my business, but when I started thinking about it like a business at, one point I was like, you know what I think I'm gonna sell this thing. And I thought, like back then I would sell it in like five years. We've already surpassed that. I'm like, five year mark was two years ago. Yeah. No, I know. That's what, especially if you're happy. And you're not burnt out and the company's doing well and you have great work life balance. These were all things that kept me from thinking about exiting in my own company. I started it when I was 26, not married. I exited when I was 30 something. Had been married for very many years and it had three kids through the process and. Minus some bumps. Like my longest maternity leave was two weeks, which is a, I tell everyone the, a major regret that it served me so well. I made a lovely salary. I was home with my kids when I wanted to be. I, you know, I really had great work-life balance and I loved the work. I was kinda like, what's the problem? It's just, it's a little bit like, if. You don't start your kids 5 29 early enough and then they go there. All of a sudden you blink and they're 17 and they're in their junior year and you're like, oh my gosh, we should have at least come up with a plan. Even if we don't have any funds to put in it, we should have come up with what the plan is gonna be. And I think about that a lot with exit planning, that if you wait till you get to the exact moment where you go, okay, gotta sell. It's a so much harder. Yeah, I would agree. Um, so that makes me feel better.'cause I'm like, well, yeah, things are good. Like work, work life balance is good. There's no real reason to sell right now. And, but it does, it still crosses my mind. And so I'm always constantly operating with that as an ultimate vision. So that like. You know, it guides a lot of my decisions of like, if I go this route, is it still gonna be like, am I gonna become more involved and it's gonna be harder to step away? Or if I, you know, like maintain that vision even if that's not, like, it doesn't happen when you expected it to. Like I said, like I expected to sell like a couple years ago if I had stuck with my original plan, I didn't expect to enjoy it so much. Yeah, and it's okay. It's good that you enjoy it, you know, and sometimes you don't have sell, but looking, it does inform your decision making differently, and you do start to wonder. Does this decision make my company more transferable to a another owner or less? And those are good questions to ask yourself. and then a fantastic thing like the Whisper group we have women come to us and we work with them on what's we call, like the Y gate that you, we do a whole report with you that looks at your, your current valuation, but like also where your mind is, like all of these things that go into it and it's your roadmap when you wanna sell down the road, , so it doesn't always have to be right this second. absolutely. Well, if we have a listener that is like, oh, I have a client that wants to sell for sure, and they just haven't, they're not working with an advisor, or maybe it's one of the bookkeepers or accountants listening, like, thinking about selling, where can people connect with you to find out more information? Yeah, so you can go to both. We are the whisper group.com or Maggie Lord and Company, maggie lord.com I should say. it pushes you to all similar information. You, happy to answer a DM on, on Instagram, which happens all the time, and that's Maggie Lord and Company. but also I think it's just great. Reach out. Let's set a 20 minute time to talk. Let me hear what's going on and how we can support you. I'm always open to meeting with people and seeing, let's, get in the room for a couple minutes and figure it out. Awesome. And then I have one last question. when I have business owners on the podcast that aren't in bookkeeping, it's a little bit of a different question than I normally ask, like people in the industry. But what is one thing that I don't know if you current, if you have a bookkeeper or you've worked with one in the past in your companies. But what is one thing that a bookkeeper can do that sets them apart, and that you really valued of how they handle things., so in my own company we, did use bookkeeping services. I think. As a business owner, cashflow is super important. And it was important because I had contract employees, I had employees, I had to run payroll, all these things, and I needed to make sure that what the revenue was, you know, equally supported what that cashflow was. And what were some expenses that we were duplicating for some reason, you know? So I think that transparency and clarity. Is really helpful, but I think cashflow, it's the only way to successfully be able to run a business. And if you don't know what your numbers are, it just makes life so much harder. Yeah, absolutely. Well thank you so much for sharing with us on the podcast and I will link all of your information in the show notes. And we'll chat soon hopefully. Thank you for having me. I appreciate it. Bye.

Podcasts we love

Check out these other fine podcasts recommended by us, not an algorithm.

Accounting High Artwork

Accounting High

Accounting High