EP 007: Professionalizing and Selling a Family-Owned Business with Lynn Marsh
Tammie Miller, your host, welcomes you to another episode of the Deal Team Six podcast. In this episode, Tammie is accompanied by Lynn Marsh, who is now the President at Road Widener and was formerly COO of a family-owned business that was involved in a sale transaction.
Lynn shares her experience working and contributing to the sale of a family-owned business being a non-family member; she dives deep into the pros and cons while sharing her lived experiences professionalizing and leading this company to success.
Episode Transcription
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(1:53) Lynn shares the pros of working in a family-owned business.
(3:57) How did Lynn foster an environment that promoted success?
(5:11) Lynn talks about what a strategic planning session looked like.
(5:52) Lynn talks about how to handle the challenges of being a non-family member in a family-owned business.
(8:17) Lynn talks about using “Behavioral Styles” instead of personality types.
(10:05) Having a non-family member at a management level provides many opportunities for a family-owned business.
(12:53) Lynn speaks about how the decision to sell the family business happened.
(14:45) What happens when some family members are more attuned to the company’s mission and goals than others?
(17:27) Lynn talks about her work professionalizing businesses.
(22:07) Lynn shares her experience leading management presentations in the process of selling the business.
(23:28) Lynn speaks about the process of selling the business.
(25:43) Selling a business is like accepting another full-time job. Organizing data is a top priority.
(27:47) Lynn talks about the emotional aspect of selling a family company.
(32:35) How to keep the managing team invested in the company during the sale process.
(35:40) Lynn talks about the organizational culture during the sale process.
(36:52) If Lynn had to do it all over again, what would she do differently?
Additional Related Resources
Blog Post: When Your Family Squabble Impacts Your Family Business
Blog Post: Quality of Earning Reports as Part of a Sale Transaction: The Who, the What, and The Why
Blog Post: Communicating With Employees Once You’ve Sold Your Company
MEET YOUR HOSTS
Tammie Miller and Tim Oleszczuk started the Deal Team Six® Podcast because they saw that there was lack of representation for middle market businesses in the investment banking world. This podcast will include stories from previous transactions, M&A market information, and candid discussions around topics that are important to business owners contemplating a sale. Most of the topics are inspired by former clients and past transactions