608 - Selling a Business Roundtable
The How of Business - How to start, run, grow and exit a small business.
Henry Lopez, Levante Business Group
4.7 • 522 Ratings
🗓️ 25 May 2026
⏱️ 29 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Selling a business is far more complicated than most entrepreneurs realize and many business owners wait too long to prepare for it.
Show Notes Page: https://www.thehowofbusiness.com/608-selling-a-business-roundtable/
In this final episode of the three-part entrepreneurial roundtable series, Henry Lopez is joined again by Giuseppe Grammatico, Rocky Lalvani, and David Barnett to discuss what actually makes a business sellable and how business owners should think about exit planning from the very beginning.
The conversation explores one of the biggest misconceptions in entrepreneurship: the belief that a small business will automatically sell for a high multiple. The panel explains why buyers care about much more than just financials, including owner dependency, systems and processes, operational documentation, and whether the business can realistically continue without the founder heavily involved.
David Barnett shares insights into business valuation, buyer psychology, and deal structures, including why many sellers are surprised to learn that buyers often want seller financing, earnouts, or transition support to reduce risk. The group also discusses why most businesses listed for sale never actually sell and what separates a transferable business from a job disguised as a business.
The episode also covers:
• How systems and SOPs increase valuation
• Why franchises often have an advantage in resale value
• The hidden tax implications of selling a business
• The emotional challenges of exiting a business
• Why some owners should focus on maximizing income instead of pursuing a sale
Whether you're years away from an exit or just starting your entrepreneurial journey, this conversation will help you think differently about building a business with long-term value.
This episode is hosted by Henry Lopez. The How of Business podcast focuses on helping you start, run, grow and exit your small business. The How of Business is a top-rated podcast for small business owners and entrepreneurs. Find the best podcast, small business coaching, resources and trusted service partners for small business owners and entrepreneurs at our website https://TheHowOfBusiness.com
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Welcome to the How of Business with your host, Henry Lopez, the podcast that helps you start, |
| 0:05.9 | run, and grow your small business. And now, here is your host. |
| 0:13.0 | Welcome to the How of Business Podcast. This is Henry Lopez, and this is part three of a |
| 0:17.9 | roundtable series on entrepreneurship and business ownership. In part one, |
| 0:22.3 | we discussed how to find the right business, and in part two, we focused on growing your |
| 0:26.7 | business. Now here in part three, we explore what every business owner should think about |
| 0:31.7 | much earlier than they usually do, which is how do you plan to exit your business. |
| 0:36.4 | Joining me again on this third episode is |
| 0:38.9 | Giuseppe Gramatico, the franchise guide, Rocky LaValny of the Profit Answerman podcast, and David |
| 0:45.6 | Barnett, a business acquisition expert and author. In this episode, we discuss business |
| 0:50.6 | valuation, systems and processes, owner dependency, deal structures, and |
| 0:55.9 | overall exit planning, and what really makes a business sellable. We also explore the emotional |
| 1:01.1 | side of selling a business and why planning your exit should begin much earlier than |
| 1:06.0 | most entrepreneurs realize. So here is part three, selling a business. |
| 1:14.6 | Okay. entrepreneurs realize. So here is part three selling a business. Okay, and we're back. We're talking about the three phases of entrepreneurship. We talked about |
| 1:19.8 | and covered the first two phases and that's finding your right business. Then we got that |
| 1:23.8 | business up and running. We talked quite a bit about technology and AI. And now in the |
| 1:28.4 | final phase, our third phase and third show in the series, we're going to be talking about |
| 1:33.2 | selling the business. I've talked quite a bit with David on this topic. It's actually our number |
| 1:38.8 | one downloaded show. How do I sell my business? And that seems to be coming up quite a bit. |
| 1:43.4 | And we talked about |
| 1:44.5 | lots of different areas and the one one key thing I will mention and this is something that I did |
... |
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