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Product Description The marketplace for small and midsize businesses is messy. Having peeked behind the curtain at over 10,000 companies, this book aims to demystify the buyers, the process, and the inevitably emotional journey that is selling a company. Read it. Reference it. Share it. Think about what outcomes are important to you and why. Here’s a cheat sheet: I want between $__________ and $___________ of cash as a financial result. (You’ll have to pay off debt, taxes, and transaction costs. Also, something is only worth what someone is willing to pay for it.) I want to work for ___ years in my current position, and am willing to consult with the company for ___ years thereafter. (It’s okay to say you want to stick with the company long-term, or leave the day of closing.) I’m looking for a buyer/partner that will take the ________ role in the company. (Example roles include advisory board, passive partner, CEO, and CFO.) The characteristics/values of an ideal buyer would be: My ideal timeline for a transaction would be ______, but I’d be happy to sell in _____ years. My top non-financial goals are: Review "Brent Beshore has two unique skills: He understands the nuance of private markets better than anyone I know, and he can communicate the complexity of private markets in a way that is understandable. There are many experts. There are many great communicators. There are few of both, and Brent's work is invaluable." - Morgan Housel, Collaborative Fund "Brent Beshore has spent years honing the art of buying businesses and this hands-on book is what you need to know in order to sell your business." - Shane Parrish, Farnam Street & Syrus Partners "It's simply not possible to find the knowledge you'll gain reading this book anywhere else. It's an insider's guide to the acquisition process. Insightful and straightforward, this book will have you prepared for the day you decide to take outside capital, or exit." - John Garrett, Community Impact Newspapers "I've learned more about business from Brent than I have from anyone else alive. He has reviewed thousands of small companies up for sale, so his perspective is invaluable to business owners. The Messy Marketplace is easy to read, detailed, and written entirely with sellers in mind--but buyers should read it, too." - Patrick O'Shaughnessy, OSAM From the Author The inescapable fact is that sooner or later every business must be transitioned, in one way or another. It's an unavoidable part of life and one that usually carries with it an unfortunate amount of stress, anxiety, and frustration. Talking with hundreds of business owners, I noticed that many of the same questions, concerns, and thought patterns kept repeating, which makes sense. Just as all businesses share many commonalities, sellers of those business will have similar experiences, with differences in personality, motivation, and situation driving the nuance. This book is the accumulation of those conversations - thousands of hours discussing the details. One goal is to help sellers, the families of sellers, sellers' advisors, and company leadership to understand the messy marketplace of imperfect buyers. Selfishly, by articulating my perspective and the philosophy of adventur.es, I hope this can scale the number and depth of my personal conversations. This is (almost) everything I'd want to discuss in the first five hours with a seller. My hope is that you walk away from this book better prepared, understand the vantage points of everyone involved, and see how you and your company could transition through a transaction with an outside investor. Cheers, Brent Beshore About the Author Brent Beshore is an investor and CEO of Permanent Equity, a private equity firm that invests in small to midsize North American companies with no intention of selling.