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      <title>The 3 Numbers That Determine What Your Service Business Is Actually Worth</title>
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      <description><![CDATA[Most service business owners think they know what their company is worth. But buyers care about three numbers: EBITDA, the multiple, and owner dependency score. The gap between a 3x and 7x multiple on a $2M EBITDA business is $8 million.]]></description>
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      <title>How to Value an Electrical Business for Sale</title>
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      <title>Business Exit Planning for Contractors: The Stories That Tell You Why It Matters</title>
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      <description><![CDATA[Business exit planning for contractors starts years before the exit. See what Pete Schopen built over 17 years, what Toys R Us failed to do, and why the consolidators are coming for your industry.]]></description>
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      <title>Business Exit Strategy for Service Companies: Culture, Systems, and the $12B Lesson</title>
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      <description><![CDATA[Business exit strategy for service companies starts with what Southwest Airlines, Zappos, and Mailchimp knew: culture and systems together create exits that honor everything you built.]]></description>
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      <title>How Long Does It Take to Sell a Business? Orkin, Schopen, and Mailchimp Answer</title>
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      <description><![CDATA[How long does it take to sell a business? The transaction is 6-12 months. The preparation is the work. Orkin built for 63 years. Schopen for 17. Mailchimp for 20. What each timeline produced - and what yours should look like.]]></description>
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      <pubDate>Mon, 23 Mar 2026 01:37:06 +0000</pubDate>
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      <title>How to Increase Business Valuation Before Selling: Three Stories That Show the Way</title>
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      <description><![CDATA[How to increase business valuation before selling. Domino's went from $3 stock to $500 with radical honesty and technology. Starbucks turned a commodity into a $100B experience. DeJoria built premium positioning from nothing. The lessons for trade business owners.]]></description>
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      <title>How to Sell a Plumbing Business: What Rollups Are Really Buying</title>
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      <description><![CDATA[Learn how to sell a plumbing business the right way. Real stories from Wrench Group, Schopen Pest, and Orkin show what buyers actually pay for - and why systems matter more than revenue.]]></description>
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      <title>Owner-Dependent Business Valuation: The Hidden Discount in Your Exit Price</title>
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      <description><![CDATA[Owner-dependent business valuation is the most common hidden discount in trade business exits. The E-Myth, Toyota, and Kodak explain what it costs - and how to fix it.]]></description>
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      <title>Selling a Business at 60: Colonel Sanders, Mary Kay, and Dave Thomas Disagree</title>
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      <description><![CDATA[Selling a business at 60 or starting a new chapter at 60 - the evidence is overwhelming that age is not the constraint. Colonel Sanders started at 65 with $105/month. Mary Kay started at 45. Dave Thomas got his GED at 61. Here is what they knew.]]></description>
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      <title>Succession Planning for Trade Businesses: Three Stories That Tell You Everything</title>
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      <description><![CDATA[Succession planning for trade businesses determines whether your legacy survives. Sears lost 132 years in a decade. Ford's genius became his company's greatest threat. Orkin built systems that outlived the founder by 60+ years. Here's what each story teaches.]]></description>
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      <pubDate>Mon, 23 Mar 2026 01:37:06 +0000</pubDate>
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      <title>What Buyers Look for When Buying a Business: The Wrench Group Checklist</title>
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      <description><![CDATA[What buyers look for when buying a business in the trades. Wrench Group evaluated 3,000+ companies per year. GE shows what financial engineering looks like to institutional buyers. Netflix's Keeper Test reveals what retention-based thinking produces.]]></description>
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      <pubDate>Mon, 23 Mar 2026 01:37:06 +0000</pubDate>
      <dc:creator>Jean Louis Hardy</dc:creator>
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      <title>What Is My HVAC Business Worth? The Multiple Gap Explained</title>
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      <description><![CDATA[What is my HVAC business worth? The answer depends on whether you own a business or a job. Wrench Group, McDonald's, and the E-Myth reveal the difference - and the 3x vs 14x multiple gap.]]></description>
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