#198: From Freelancer to Selling to a Private Equity Firm: How to Grow Long-Term Value

On today’s podcast, I’m talking with Lloyd Wolf. We’re talking about how he took his freelance IT company and turned it into a full-time IT service company. Not only did this take talent and know-how, but it also involved a change in his mindset. We also get into how a peer group helped him focus on the right things, how he shifted his mindset from annual profit to EBITDA and value creation, and how and when he realized that he “made it”.

We are entering a new normal with Post COVID but the guest on the show today has lived through various business models, recessions and he was still able to eventually get what he wanted from the business. Lloyd was VERY intentional with his strategies and where he was spending his time, energy and money.

It’s official, I’ll be changing the name of this podcast from the Life After Business Podcast to The Intentional Growth Podcast. We’ll be launching the change on the 200th episode. It has been a huge decision for me because, after all these years, I’ve grown as an individual as I’ve learned about valuations, value growth, even more about business, the economy, just tons of personal and professional growth. My original and current desire for my listeners is for you to be able to get all the information you need in order to make your own decisions so you can choose your own adventures. That comes down to being intentional.

What You Will Learn In Today's Podcast Interview:

• Our definition of a successful entrepreneurial journey
• How to shift your mindset from being an accidental entrepreneur to an Intentional entrepreneur
• The 3 things most important things to help you get intentional and successfully get what he wanted out of and exit
• How Lloyd used CEO Peer Groups as a way to level up his game
• What happens after you shift your mindset away from solving for annual profit to solving for long term value creation
• How to remove yourself from the day to day of the business
• Ways to calculate your financial freedom number WHILE you own the company
• The difference between enterprise value and net proceeds
• Why different buyers want different things
• How to analyze the motives of the buyer against your personal drivers and financial targets
• How to create a “deal package” even if you don’t plan to sell for years
• What to do say when you get those phone calls and someone wants to “offer you a ton of money”

Main takeaway:

I believe you can get what you want from your business on all fronts. It’s going to take hard work but--I promise you--it’s worth it. Go to ARKONA.IO/Assessment or text 66866 to take a two-minute, twenty question assessment that we’ve created to help you shift your mindset and focus on value-creating activities that will help you get what you want with your business.

Sign Up For The Mastering Your Cash Flow Video Series

We created a video series called Mastering Your Cash Flow that helps you get clear visibility into your cash flow and build a financial strategy that allows you to capitalize on the future opportunities that come from the crisis

What You'll Learn in the Mastering Your Cash Flow Video Series

1. How to Build a 13-Week Cash Flow Statement: Get clarity on where and how your cash is coming from and being used and then build a plan to manage it wisely. Learn how to build a 13-week cash flow statement from the top CFOs in the marketplace.
2. How to Build and Revise Your 2020/21 Budget and Forecast: 2020 and 2021 are most likely not going to look like you thought they did back when you built your budget and forecast. Learn how to model out different scenarios using forecasting best practices.
3. Create a Strategic Plan to Grow Company Value: Increase the chances you come out of the gates and capitalize on future opportunities when our new "normal" sets in. Start thinking about how you can create a strategic plan to grow a valuable business that gives you choices.

Quotes:

17:36 – “I was blessed to have been introduced to Arlin Sorenson in the 2010 time-frame and Arlin had put together what (at the time) was known as the H.T.G. Peer Groups. The Heartland Technologies Groups.” – Lloyd Wolf

21:00 – “Prior to the peer groups, there was really no one that could hold me accountable, right? If I had goals or aspirations, I kept them to myself, mostly-you know, for the most part. Some I shared with the staff, but not the deepest darkest secret ones.” – Lloyd Wolf

72:46 – “EOS is a proven set of tools and so I’m so comfortable with it and it worked for me (and it’s worked for thousands of other businesses) that I feel confident that I can play the role of the teacher, a facilitator, and a coach.” – Lloyd Wolf

25:00 – “Within the peer group we talked about goals for the quarter so just being intentional. What’s the most thing that I say, that I need to get done next quarter? And then focusing on that over the quarter and then being held accountable at the end of the quarter.” – Lloyd Wolf

Links and Resources:

Lloyd Wolf, LinkedIn

Achieve Business Services

Mastering Your Cash Flow Digital Course

ARKONA Boot Camp

Reach out to me if you have questions about the boot camp!

You can also reach out to me via email at [email protected], on my LinkedIn.