Hopefully, you’re regularly talking to your clients—asking how things are going, what’s working, what’s not, and how your team is impacting their business. That kind of insight is gold. It helps you course-correct, tailor your services, and deepen client loyalty. But here’s the question most leaders forget to ask: Are you listening to your employees with the same intent and intensity?
In an M&A process, your one chance to make a first impression on prospective buyers is during the fireside chats. Before the fireside chat, buyers sign an NDA. They also get your Confidential Information Memorandum (CIM) and Quality of Earnings (QOE). I took part in fireside chats with potential buyers during our M&A process. Here are my ten tips.
Welcome, members of Collective 54. Today, we’re delving into a topic that touches the core of entrepreneurial ventures and the dreams of every founder – the exit strategy. Exiting, or selling your firm, is often seen as the culmination of a founder’s hard work and vision. However, the idea of timing this exit perfectly is more myth than reality. Here are the top ten reasons why it’s virtually impossible to time the exit of your firm precisely:
In today’s cluttered business world, standing out as an authority in your niche can feel like yelling into a storm. But there’s a clever way to rise above: write a book tailored to your expertise. A niche-specific book doesn’t just show off your smarts—it builds trust, attracts clients, and solidifies your reputation. After writing it, you’ll pick between traditional publishing or self-publishing through Amazon’s Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP). Even better, Amazon Ads—whether you self-publish or your publisher allows them—can supercharge your book’s reach and impact. Let’s dive into how a book establishes your authority and why Amazon Advertising is your secret weapon, no matter your publishing choice.
The aerospace industry stands at a thrilling inflection point where emerging technologies promise to transform how we move through the skies. For companies with specialized expertise, this represents not just an opportunity—but a rare moment to shape the future of flight itself. Beyond the excitement that always surrounds innovation there is also ample opportunity for economic growth as emerging technology creates new requirements for materials, talent, infrastructure, and continued support from up and coming from the next generation of engineers, managers, operators, mechanics…everyone with a passion for aviation stands to see new “firsts” and benefit from those events.
My dad founded Corporate Insight in 1992 as a solo marketing research practitioner. He was content in that role—until 1997, when he hit on an idea to productize research. That’s when I joined him, and within three months, we launched our new service and made our first non-family hire. At the time, we thought we’d stay a small, five-person operation. But the market had other ideas, and as demand grew, so did our team.
As founders of boutique professional services firms navigate the intricate journey of building, scaling, and perhaps eventually selling their businesses, the narrative surrounding the reasons for these exits often skims over the surface of deeper, unvoiced motivations. At Collective 54, we’ve witnessed firsthand 40 successful exits and nearly 200 attempts that fell short. This unique vantage point has revealed the underlying drivers that founders themselves may not openly acknowledge. Let’s delve into these unspoken truths and understand the real reasons behind the decision to sell.
Your most important customer doesn’t care about the features and benefits of your service. It doesn’t matter how articulate you are about describing those features or how much you advertise them. They don’t care. How can I be so sure when I don’t even know what service you provide? Because I’m referring to executive decision makers; those people who make the ultimate call about whether to choose your service or not.
As we’ve been focused on scaling our company over the last two years, there have been a few moments that have keenly challenged and clarified my approach to leadership. Despite the professional services setting, in these challenging moments, I keep thinking back to my professional roots as a high school basketball and football coach. Market Eminence isn’t about being the loudest in the room; it’s about commanding more respect, earning higher trust, and building a permanent presence in your industry.
If your consulting firm, marketing agency, or IT services firm is struggling to generate leads and close deals, the problem isn’t your expertise. It’s your positioning.
Too many professional services firms start with their services rather than the problem they solve, target a broad audience, and lack a compelling value proposition. This weakens their ability to sell effectively and compete against larger firms.
