Brad Ruth, Ohio Business Advisor

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10/16/2026

Your online booking system isn't an asset until it transfers. If your Google profile runs off your personal Gmail and your 305-star reviews are attached to you personally, a big chunk of what's generating leads walks out the door at closing.

Clean transfer = asset. Tied to you personally = liability.

"I don't believe in testing the market."That's what I tell sellers who want to dip their toe in before fully committing ...
10/13/2026

"I don't believe in testing the market."

That's what I tell sellers who want to dip their toe in before fully committing to a sale. Here's why: once you breach confidentiality, you can't unring that bell. Your people find out. Your vendors find out. Your competitors find out. And suddenly, your business looks unstable.

Instead, I lead with a business valuation. Let's understand what the sales comps say. Let's look at discounted cash flow. Let's get an SBA lender to pre-approve a real number. Then we go to market with confidence, not as an uncommitted seller hoping someone waves a big check.

The difference? One gets deals done. The other creates chaos.

What's holding you back from a real exit plan?

When a buyer tells you they have a backer, ask this: Can you verify it?A real committed backer will let you. A vague one...
10/09/2026

When a buyer tells you they have a backer, ask this: Can you verify it?

A real committed backer will let you. A vague one hides behind "my investor prefers to stay confidential."

Confidential is fine. Unverifiable is not fine.

Follow the money. Get proof of funds. Get a commitment letter. Get evidence of capital. Get a lender pre-qual or a term sheet.

If there's an SBA or bank piece, a third party has already vetted the money for you.

The difference between a real deal and a phantom deal is verification. Don't skip it.

Here's something most people don't understand about my job:The real money I earn as a broker isn't in marketing the busi...
10/07/2026

Here's something most people don't understand about my job:

The real money I earn as a broker isn't in marketing the business or negotiating the price.

It's between the letter of intent and closing.

That's where the value is. That's where I earn my keep. Navigating diligence. Managing the buyer. Protecting the seller. Solving problems that come up. Making sure the deal actually closes.

Anyone can list a business. Not everyone can close one.

You're 2-3 years away from selling. Your longest-tenured employees are approaching retirement.You're in trouble.Here's w...
10/06/2026

You're 2-3 years away from selling. Your longest-tenured employees are approaching retirement.

You're in trouble.

Here's what I tell owners: build a bench now. Bring in new people. Bring in apprentices. Get your experienced people training the younger ones. Transfer the tribal knowledge about accounts, situations, how to handle things.

If you don't have that bench, the business is tough to sell. If your experienced people are the majority of your staff, it might not be sellable at all.

A buyer is buying your staff with their knowledge and the cash flow. If your staff is walking out the door in two years, you've got a problem.

Start now. Build the tribe. Make the business transferable.

You've got three different brokers on the buyer side. Nobody's clearly in charge. Communication is a mess. You're gettin...
09/30/2026

You've got three different brokers on the buyer side. Nobody's clearly in charge. Communication is a mess. You're getting whipsawed.

Here's what I've learned: cross communication isn't just sloppy. It's a signal about buyer seriousness.

A committed, well-organized buyer shows up with a clean deal team and clear lines. A buyer surrounded by a confusing swarm of go-betweens? Often a weak and unfunded buyer dressed up to look active.

Don't let the chaos consume months of your time and money.

Force structure. Get one point of contact on each side. Get roles and fees in writing. Protect your information with NDAs to the real principal. Document everything through one channel.

Read the chaos as data. A serious buyer tolerates this discipline easily. A disorganized swarm that won't let you reach the principal is often telling you there's no real deal there.

You've got B2B revenue and B2C revenue mixed together on one P&L.Your buyer looks at it and sees a mess. I look at it an...
09/23/2026

You've got B2B revenue and B2C revenue mixed together on one P&L.

Your buyer looks at it and sees a mess. I look at it and see an opportunity to tell a better story.

Here's how I frame it: I break it into two columns. Revenue, gross margin, customer count, top customer concentration, contract vs. transactional, growth trend. For each stream.

Then I write a short narrative: here's your stable base, here's your diversified upside, here's how they hedge each other, here's what running both requires.

That turns a confusing blended number into a clear risk map. Which is exactly what builds buyer confidence and defends the price.

A mixed revenue business usually reads as more resilient, not messier. But only if you explain it right.

There's always some regret in selling a business.You've been the president. Everyone knows you by your company. You walk...
09/22/2026

There's always some regret in selling a business.

You've been the president. Everyone knows you by your company. You walk away from that and part of your identity goes with it.

I have a lot of conversations with sellers about this before we ever list. Because the worst time to realize you made a mistake is after the deal closes.

Some owners think they're retiring. Then they realize the sale didn't generate enough money and they have to go find a real job. Some are burned out and think they want out, but what they really want is a break.

The psychology matters as much as the financials.

Before you sell, make sure you know where you're going next. Make sure you've thought through what life looks like without the business. Make sure the money actually works.

Because once you sign, you can't unsign.

You've been trading services with another business for years. No money changes hands. It's off the books. You think it's...
09/17/2026

You've been trading services with another business for years. No money changes hands. It's off the books. You think it's a hidden asset. I can't get you paid for it.

Here's my advice: shut it down. Put everything on the books. Start now if you're 1-2 years away from selling. I can't value what doesn't show up in the tax returns. I can't explain it to a buyer. I can't get a lender to underwrite it.

What I can do is help you build a year or two of legitimate books that show what's really happening. Then we can talk about the past and what you're doing now.

The books have to be clean. That's non-negotiable.

A former employee starts a competing business right before your sale closes.Suddenly your buyer is nervous. Your revenue...
09/14/2026

A former employee starts a competing business right before your sale closes.

Suddenly your buyer is nervous. Your revenue looks fragile. Your deal is wobbling.

Here's what I tell sellers: this is exactly why non-competes, customer diversification, and documented relationships matter.

If a deal survives this, great. If it wobbles, it's revealing something that was always true: your business was more fragile than you thought.

The best defense is built long before. Company-owned relationships. Signed agreements. No single point of failure.

If you don't have a diversified customer base where no one customer or group of customers is the majority of your business, you've got a problem. And a smart buyer will find it.

Address

4644 Graford Lane
Stow, OH
44224

Telephone

+13305248205

Website

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