The short answer
Michèle Hecken shares how she founded, grew, and sold a translation business while managing burnout, and why knowing your personal exit drivers matters as much as preparing the business itself.
Key takeaways
- How time zones can create a strategic advantage for a business
- The art of scaling up and off-boarding yourself from the business
- How to know when it is the right time to sell
- What research to conduct and how to formulate the right number for sale
- Advice for entrepreneurs to not feel trapped within their business
Listen to the podcast
46 minWatch the full interview
About this episode
In a globalised world dictated by time zone differences and multiple business languages, Michèle Hecken saw a need for high-quality, reliable translations.
As one of Canada’s first German-to-English translation service offerings, Michèle was finely poised for rapid growth and a sustainable competitive advantage that led to her eventually exiting the business after years of dominating the market.
In this episode, we talk about how Michèle succeeded so impressively, when and how she knew it was the right time to sell, and what her advice is to budding entrepreneurs looking to step back from their businesses.
Tune in to hear from a truly skilled entrepreneur who ‘got out’ on her terms.
Chapters
- 3:15Michèle’s business accelerated in growth because of three key reasons. She talks about how they positively impacted her business
- 9:00After growing the business to a point where it was affecting Michèle’s personal life, she talks about a change she made that helped her scale rapidly and start to move out of the day-to-day operations
- 16:45Knowing when it’s the right moment to sell is something that all entrepreneurs grapple with. And for Michèle it was dreading getting up for work one morning. Here’s how she knew it was time
- 28:42Michèle had three tiers of expectations when it came to getting her ideal number during the transaction
- 34:39Entrepreneurial Advice: Many entrepreneurs talk about the feeling of being trapped after the sale of a business. Michèle provides sound advice for other entrepreneurs to avoid that situation
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About Michèle Hecken
Michèle Hecken believes that, for entrepreneurs, there is no real separation between life and business. You are either doing what you love or not.
Michèle is an 8-Figure Global Serial Entrepreneur. She founded, grew, and sold her multi-million-dollar business while working less than 20 hours a week and living a very fun life.
Michèle is also a Transformational Coach and Mentor to high-achieving entrepreneurs, an Angel Investor in companies with a mission to change the world in a meaningful way, an EO Member (Graduate of Entrepreneurial Master Program, EMP class of 2012), and an Author and Speaker.
She is passionate about creating your best life and business, angel investments that change the world, inclusiveness, business ideas, strategy, philosophy, culture, and travel.
Connect with Michèle Hecken
About the show
Buy Grow Sell is hosted by Simon Bedard, founder and managing director of Exit Advisory Group, a boutique mergers and acquisitions advisory firm that helps Australian business owners value, prepare for and navigate a sale. Every conversation draws on real deals and the patterns behind them.
