709: Joe Valley | How to Become an 'EXITpreneur'

Starting and running a successful business is only half the battle. Do you have an equally successful exit strategy?
After building, buying, and selling 6+ of his own companies, Joe Valley helped build Quiet Light Brokerage, one of the leading online-focused M&A Advisory firms in the world. Now, after facilitating nearly half a billion dollars in exits, Joe has written the bestselling book The EXITpreneur’s Playbook - to help online business owners get the maximum value and best deal structure when they seek their own incredible exit.
If you want to learn how to become an ‘EXITpreneur’ then dive into this very tactical episode to learn from the master of exiting himself.

Things you will learn in this episode:
[00:01 - 05:53] Opening Segment 

I introduce today’s guest, Joe Valley

Joe gives us a bit of his background

Always entrepreneurial at heart 

Parents and upbringing 

Joe’s thoughts on the internal desire to work for himself

College experience and education  

Learning what you DON’T want to do for a living 

Taking the leap into entrepreneurship 

[05:54 - 18:10] How to Become an 'EXITpreneur'

Joe talks about his first venture into ownership

Starting a company called “Wrong Number” in college 

Making half a million dollars in his first year 

“I’m can not be my business” 

Joe’s lessons from his early mistakes selling his business

Waiting too long to sell

You need to make goals

Know your when, what, and where

You don’t want to ‘decide’ to sell, but ‘plan’ to sell

How to detach your name from the business 

Examples of how to make the transition 

Seek the buyers who are looking to add value 

How to choose your buyer instead of courting them 

Joe shares how he’s utilized networking to make a good exit 

Making connections with like-minded people

Creating mutual benefits

A quick word from our sponsors

[18:11 - 31:39] Creating a Sellable Business

Joe talks about the reason behind his book 

Making people comfortable with planning to exit 

The value of helping and connecting people 

Why the goal should be to help people 

50% of the money you make on your business comes from selling 

What makes a good, sellable business: an in-depth approach

What buyers are looking for:

Risk, growth, transferability, and documentation

Small businesses carry a bigger risk 

If your business is growing, buyers can make predictions

Untransferable assets is an unsellable business 

The importance of good documentation and bookkeeping

How to calculate Seller Discretionary Earnings (SDE)

Joe’s advice around Acquisition Entrepreneurship

[31:40 - 35:28] Closing Segment 

The example of Amazon sellers

How to connect with Joe and his work - links below

Final words 

 
Tweetable Quotes: 
“I am the mistake that I try to help everybody not make.” - Joe Valley

“That’s the thing I want people to avoid, is waiting till the point where they wake up and say, ‘I gotta sell this.’ What they really should do is set some goals.” - Joe Valley

“I make more money by helping people than when I was focused on making money.” - Joe Valley

Resources Mentioned:

The EXITPreneur’s Playbook

exitpreneur.io

 
You can connect with Joe on Twitter and LinkedIn. Be sure to check out https://quietlight.com/ if you want to exit with more money and better terms!
This podcast is sponsored by BetterHelp and Build Your Network listeners get 10% off their first month at https://betterhelp.com/buildyournetwork
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