Articles, analysis, and frameworks from Steve — written for people who want to think better about deals, not just read about them.
Everyone talks about multiples. Few people understand what actually drives them — or how the same business can attract very different bids from different buyer types.
After working on hundreds of deals, the same five issues keep appearing — visible in the numbers before you sign, if you know where to look.
Earn-outs are one of the most misused tools in SME acquisitions. They can bridge a valuation gap or create years of conflict. The difference is in how they're designed.
Most failed sales aren't the market's fault. They're preparation failures — owner dependency, messy accounts, customer concentration, and price expectations untethered from reality.
Reported EBITDA tells you what a business earned. Quality of earnings tells you whether those earnings are real, repeatable, and sustainable. These are very different questions.
If your business can't run without you, you don't have a business worth selling — you have a job. Here's how to change that, and how long it actually takes.
Getting the seller to finance part of the deal sounds risky. In the right circumstances, it's one of the most powerful tools a buyer has — and it's more common than you think.
From "just use the industry multiple" to "revenue is the best measure" — the misconceptions that lead to overpriced deals and undervalued exits.
You've completed the deal. Now the real work begins. These are the mistakes I see most often in the months after completion — and how to avoid them.
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