The short answer
Craig Daley shares the underestimated costs of remaining in a business after selling it: the identity, authority and culture shifts that rarely get discussed before a sale.
Key takeaways
- The ups and downs of including a holdback in a private equity sale (and why it can be such a shock for businesses with lower turnover)
- Why it’s important to have your company ducks in a row before you go to market (even if the transaction period will take 12 months or more)
- What Craig recommends nailing down to help navigate your business sale negotiations
- The one (big) thing you need to clear up if you’re going to stay on and work post-sale
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51 minAbout this episode
If you won a Harley Davidson, what would you do with it? Craig Daley sold it--and started a new life. Committed to the new ideas he had for a traditional market, Craig’s first foray into direct mail marketing was funded by that motorbike sale--much to his huge success.
Believing in the power of looking at existing businesses and industries with fresh eyes, Craig reinvented what it meant to keep overheads down and operating costs low. From his direct one-on-one work with competitors to navigating a public health insurance system, Craig learned through years of hard work and perseverance what it really means to take hold of a national market.
Now coaching startups, SMEs, and growing entrepreneurs looking for the innovative ways they can scale and sell their businesses, Craig is sharing his years worth of experience so that others can do it in half the time. Knowing that you’re only as good as your weakest person--and the importance of getting clear on what really works best for you--I sat down with Craig to talk about the ups and downs of staying on in a business long after you sell.
If you’ve been tossing around the idea of ongoing work in your business before you formally exit, I think this episode might be for you. Sharing the few key, pivotal things every business owner needs to consider and negotiate before they reach a transaction deal, I have a feeling that Craig’s insight could save you a lot of hardship and frustration down the road.
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About Craig Daley
Craig Daley holds a bachelor’s degree from Oklahoma State University, and has had a distinguished 35-year career in business, management and turnaround projects for distressed businesses as well as exponentially growing small-medium sized operations in numerous industries. He spent over 20 years in upper and senior management in full-service hotel / food & beverage operations while managing budgets with total operations responsibility.
Most recently, he was the Founder and CEO of Comfort Medical Supply, LLC, a nationally-accredited home medical equipment company that grew to national acclaim and a 3-time recipient of the Inc 500, “Fastest Growing Privately-Held Companies in America” award. Under his guidance, the company formed with $20,000 in 2003 and grew to $12 million in 10 years.
After a successful acquisition of Comfort by a private equity group in 2011 and continuing his tenure with Comfort as Chairman and CEO, Daley resigned in early 2013. Now semi-retired, he provides interim executive management, consulting and financial services for all types of businesses on a global scale. He has Board experience and guides and advises businesses through his advisory firm, Portfolio Management Group. He is a member of The ExecRanks, a provider of highly-qualified Board member for numerous businesses in the U.S.
Connect with Craig Daley
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.
