The short answer
Kerry Boulton reveals how she acquired Freight Management International from a large corporate for $300,000, starting with just $10,000, and how the employee buyout was structured.
Key takeaways
- Buying the business you work for
- The importance of having your business ready when you are tapped on the shoulder by an acquirer
- Having the right advisors to help you through an exit process, so you don’t get put through the acquirers process
- How vendor financing can make or break a business transaction
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55 minAbout this episode
You know the old saying “if you want something done give it to a busy person”? That’s Kerry Boulton in a nutshell. Without a high school certificate Kerry dove headlong into work experience, took over the freight management company she worked for, sold it off, got a Master’s degree, taught MBA courses, started coaching business clients, and kicked off more than a few businesses--all the while living a family life.
Reflecting on her experience as a wife, Mum, entrepreneur, and business coach, Kerry passes on her wisdom to fellow entrepreneurs who haven’t yet decided what they’ll do next after they sell or retire. Believing that finding your purpose is the key question to ask before considering moving on or taking the next step, Kerry’s track record buying, selling, and moving into new businesses and industries means that you can take her word for it. (Even if her first retirement only lasted for two weeks.)
If you’re thinking about wrapping up a lifelong career in business or as an entrepreneur, you can’t miss this episode. From family tragedy to the loss of a colleague, Kerry’s long career has seen the ups, downs, successes, and heartbreak that come from running a business. Not sure where to go after you exit or retire? I think that Kerry Boulton will be just the guest for you.
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About Kerry Boulton
When it comes to being able to ‘monetise’ a business for sale, Kerry Boulton has over $15.4 million worth of runs on the board from businesses she has successfully helped build and sell over the past three decades. Described by most people who meet her as an elegant, serial entrepreneur, Kerry was the first woman to manage and own an international freight forwarding company when she negotiated the buyout of Freight Management International, a division of the publicly listed company, Mayne Nickless Ltd. Following her purchase of Freight Management International in 1987, the business was successfully sold nine years later after a multimillion-dollar dollar turnaround – giving Kerry one of the biggest pay days of her career.
As founder and CEO of The Exit Strategy Group, she won the 1992 Telstra Business Award for Total Quality Management and was named Innovator of the Year by the Australian Graduate School of Entrepreneurship in 1999.
Connect with Kerry Boulton
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.
