Matt Blackwell

When you start thinking about selling your business, there are probably a few questions that immediately come to mind. What is my business worth? Who is going to buy it? How long will the process take? And of course, what am I actually going to walk away with when everything is said and done? All important questions. But interestingly enough, these are not always the things that end up creating problems during a transaction. More often, the issues that slow down or even derail a sale were already there before the business ever went to market. Maybe the owner’s expectations of value do not quite match what buyers are willing to pay. Maybe there is a piece of real estate that no one has decided what to do with. Financials need some additional explanation, facilities need work, or there is […]

There is a version of every transaction that looks straightforward on paper. Financials are organized, disclosures are complete, and the process unfolds largely as expected. And then there is real life. Over the years, we have worked with business owners who were incredibly prepared and others who discovered along the way that there were pieces of their business they had not thought much about in years. A tax matter that was still unresolved. A contract that had been interpreted one way internally but looked different to a buyer. A compliance issue that seemed minor until someone outside the company started asking questions. None of these situations are unusual, and very few are deal breakers. They are simply reminders that every business has complexities, especially those that have been built and managed over many years. What often makes the difference is […]

When a business goes to market, many owners think of due diligence as a checklist. It’s not. Due diligence is where buyers validate everything they’ve been told and uncover what they haven’t. More importantly, it’s where they assign value to risk. That process ultimately answers three questions: What am I buying? What could go wrong? And what is that worth? For sellers, this is the moment where preparation either protects value—or erodes it. Not All Buyers Approach Diligence the Same Way One of the most overlooked realities in a transaction is that the buyer determines the process. A first-time or individual buyer may take a more informal approach, with fewer requests and slower pacing. A private equity-backed group, on the other hand, will run a structured, high-intensity process with dedicated teams, third-party financial reviews, and constant information flow. The implication […]

When funeral home owners begin thinking about a sale, the focus often turns to valuation multiples and market timing. In reality, buyers start somewhere else. They start with risk. Every buyer, whether a regional operator, public consolidator, or private equity backed group, is trying to mitigate downside. Red flags are simply indicators of risk. Not every issue will kill a transaction, but almost every red flag affects price, structure, or terms. More importantly, surprises during diligence damage credibility and shift leverage to the buyer. Call volume quality is one of the first areas buyers analyze. Unexplained declines or volatility raise concerns about lost relationships, service quality, or competitive pressure. Market share trends matter. So does concentration risk. Heavy reliance on a single church, hospital, or municipality may inflate current performance but create meaningful downside if that relationship changes. Revenue quality […]