Brad Ruth, Ohio Business Advisor

Name: Brad Ruth, Ohio Business Advisor
Address: 4644 Graford Lane, Stow, OH, 44224, US
Telephone: +13305248205

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Brad Ruth, Ohio Business Advisor

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09/03/2026

You've been taking a $40k salary for 10 years while your business makes $500k. You think that's a hidden asset. Your buyer thinks it's a red flag.

Here's the reality: deferring your own comp doesn't destroy value, but it hides it. And when it comes time to sell, you can't just tell a lender "the business runs on free labor." They won't buy it. Literally.

The fix is honest recast earnings. Add back your deferred comp. Normalize it to a fair market wage (usually $60-80k for main street businesses). Document it so tightly that your buyer and their lender can trust it.

Done right, this usually reveals value the P&L was hiding all along. Done as wishful thinking, it collapses in due diligence.

The whole game is the credible, sourced, reconciled number.

09/02/2026

"We have a backer."

Three words that kill more deals than anything else.

Here's what I've learned: a "backer" can mean a lot of different things. A committed fund with capital already raised. An independent sponsor who hasn't raised a dime yet. A wealthy individual who said "maybe." A passive equity partner who's just along for the ride.

The problem? Most sellers don't know which one they're dealing with until it's too late.

Before you tie up your business under LOI, ask the buyer one question: Is the capital committed or discretionary?

If they can't answer that clearly, you already know what you need to know.

08/31/2026

The Unsellable Business Problem

You know what kills me? A business owner who's been grinding for 15 years, built something real, and then finds out it's not sellable.

I see it constantly. 70-80% of the businesses listed on BizBuySell aren't actually sellable. They look good on paper. The owner thinks they're worth something. But a real buyer walks through the door and sees all the risk.

Owner-dependent. No systems. Customer concentration. Off-the-books cash. Deferred comp that doesn't reconcile. The hard truth: you can't fix these things in 90 days before a sale. You fix them 2-3 years before.

If you're thinking about selling in the next few years, stop waiting. Start now.

What's the biggest risk hiding in your business right now?

08/27/2026

You know what kills me? A business owner who's been grinding for 15 years, built something real, and then finds out it's not sellable.

I see it constantly. 70-80% of the businesses listed on BizBuySell aren't actually sellable. They look good on paper. The owner thinks they're worth something. But a real buyer walks through the door and sees all the risk.

Owner-dependent. No systems. Customer concentration. Off-the-books cash. Deferred comp that doesn't reconcile.

The hard truth: you can't fix these things in 90 days before a sale. You fix them 2-3 years before.

If you're thinking about selling in the next few years, stop waiting. Start now.

What's the biggest risk hiding in your business right now?

08/25/2026

I started in insurance. Built a massive book of cleaning and restoration clients. Then I moved into restaurants. Owned one. Scaled it. Then real estate development. Then business brokerage.

The pattern? Specialization wins.

When you niche down — whether it's a service, an industry, or a customer type — you become the expert. You understand the economics. You know the buyers. You know the value drivers.

Generalists compete on price. Specialists compete on value.

If you're building a business to sell, pick your niche early. Own it. Build systems around it.

That's what makes you valuable.

08/24/2026

Enterprise value ≠ what you think your business is worth.

Your business is worth what a buyer will pay for it. Not what you think it should be. Not what you'd like it to be.

SBA lending multiples, market comps, EBITDA multiples — these aren't suggestions. They're the market.

If your business doesn't fit the model, it's not worth what you think. And that's not a failure. It's data.

The sooner you accept that, the sooner you can either:

1️⃣ Build value (systems, team, margins) 2️⃣ Sell at market price 3️⃣ Keep running it

Don't waste time fighting the market.

The market always wins.

08/19/2026

I owned a restaurant for nearly 20 years. Scaled it into a top revenue and profit location.

Here's what I learned: most restaurant owners fail because they're operators, not business owners. They can cook. They can manage staff. But they can't read a P&L. They don't understand unit economics. They don't build systems.

The difference between a restaurant that survives and one that thrives? The owner who treats it like a business — not a passio project. Same applies to any business.

You can love what you do. But if you don't understand the numbers, you're just working for yourself — and not even paying yourself well.

08/18/2026

Private equity is rolling up the trades. HVAC, plumbing, roofing, electrical.

Why? Because mom-and-pop shops aren't scalable. They're owner-dependent. They don't have systems. If you're in the trades and you want to build something sellable, you need to think like a PE buyer from day one:

📊 Systems, not just you 👥 A team that can run without you 📈 Repeatable processes 💰 Margins that make sense

The businesses getting acquired aren't the ones with the best technicians.

They're the ones with the best operations.

08/13/2026

Nobody talks about this: the psychology.

Selling a business isn't a transaction. It's a loss of identity.

For a lot of owners, the business IS how they identify themselves — with their friends, family, peers.

When it sells, that's a real psychological hit.

The real chaos happens between the LOI and the purchase agreement. That's when cold feet set in.

When sellers say "I don't want to sell" — even though they signed the LOI.

My job is to remind them WHY they wanted to sell in the first place.

"You're in your mid-70s. Your wife has health problems. You're running out of energy. Those reasons haven't changed. Let's work through the challenges."

It's not about the deal. It's about managing the emotions on both sides.

08/07/2026

Price matters. Fit matters more. A qualified buyer has the money. A great buyer has the money AND the skill set, grit, and financial intelligence to run the business.

I interview every buyer — background, experience, why THIS business, what are they good at, what are they NOT good at.

A lot of people have the dream. Few have the stamina. After 10+ years, I know what a good buyer looks like.

And I tell my sellers my opinion — because the wrong buyer at the right price is still the wrong deal.

Address

4644 Graford Lane
Stow, OH
44224

Telephone

+13305248205

Website

https://www.glbainc.com/

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