Smartly Selling Your Business, An Interview with Eric Gilboord by Richard Dri
In this podcast I was interviewed by Richard Dri a Portfolio Manager and founder of Dri Financial Group at Scotia Wealth Management
Introduction by Richard Dri
Eric is the founder and CEO of Warren Business Development Centre, which assists business owners in maximizing how much their companies are worth, while finding the right people to purchase them. One of the bigger challenges Eric faces in his line of work is that many of his clients are older and often begin the selling process late and without proper preparation, with quite a few owners realizing they’re not yet ready to sell.
In this episode, Eric discusses how working in marketing taught him the ins and outs of how to value and sell businesses, explains why he talks about “transitioning” rather than retirement with his clients and imparts why it’s okay to make mistakes.
Podcast Highlights:
Eric came to understand how business owners think by working with them for two decades as part of the marketing company he founded.
With WarrenBDC, Eric helps his clients understand the wide variety of options they have for their business when it comes to transitioning (i.e. retiring).
One of the first pieces of advice he gives his clients is to focus on the relatively small percentage of products or services that actually make up the bulk of their business, so as to not overwhelm them.
WarrenBDC typically doesn’t need to hire its own accountants and tax experts as the businesses they work with almost always already have them.
Eric’s firm charges its clients a relatively low fee up front because they have such confidence in their services that they can rely on the success fee.
WarrenBDC finds the most success working with older clients in the “widget” industry—those making practical products or tools that most people don’t even think about.
Eric prefers to use the term “transition” instead of “retire” when speaking to his clients because while they might be averse to the latter, most do recognize that as they get older their relationship with their company will change in terms of how many responsibilities they take on.
He advises entrepreneurs to be realistic about their business environment, make plans for the future, and accept that at some point you will make a bad call or poor decision.
Eric has a financial advisor, through whom he purchases funds. Eric also purchases and invests in private companies.
The most important money lesson Eric has learned is that the value a service or task provides is more important than how long the service or task took.
Quotes:
“20% of your customers do 80% of the business.”
“To us, it’s less about finding a buyer for a seller, and it’s more about putting the right buyer and the right seller together.”
“At the end of the day if you’re helping a lot of people to improve their lives, that’s a pretty good thing to be doing.”
“If you’re at the top of your game and the business is doing really well, it’s a good time to consider getting out.”
“A business is only worth what someone is willing to pay for it.”
