The Real Jason Duncan Podcast
385. Your Business Might Be Unsellable ft. Mark Hartmann
In Episode 385 of The Real Jason Duncan Podcast, every business owner believes the same lie: if it's profitable, it's sellable. The man who sells companies for a living says that's wrong. Buyers don't pay for profit. They pay for what keeps working after you walk out the door. Mark Hartmann has sat on both sides of the deal table. His medical claims cost containment company made the Inc. 5000 list three years in a row -- and then a private equity group offered him three times earnings on a three-year earnout, and he learned in an instant that he'd built a golden trap. Wildly profitable, over a million in EBITDA, and it all ran through him. Three years later, after rebuilding the company for transferability, he sold it for eight figures with 42 inquiries coming in after the LOI was signed. Today he runs HartmannRhodes, an M&A advisory firm helping owners of $1 million to $25 million companies actually get sold, and he wrote the book on it: Sweat Equity Payday. This lie is comfortable because every scoreboard confirms it. The P&L says you're winning. The bank believes it. The award lists believe it. But building a successful business and successfully selling that business are two entirely different disciplines -- and 8 out of 10 businesses that go to market never sell. Not because they're bad businesses. Because of owner dependence. In this episode, Jason and Mark cover: The earnout offer that exposed the lie -- why Mark walked away from three times earnings in his thirties, and when an earnout is the only option left How Mark made himself "completely useless" in his own company in three years -- and sold for eight figures because of it Why 80% of businesses that go to market never sell, and why the number one reason is owner dependence, not business quality The Kidnap Test from Mark's book: what happens to your company if you disappear for a day, a week, a month, a quarter -- and who can sign checks, run payroll, and pay vendors without you Why 9 out of 10 owners who show up ready to sell aren't actually ready -- and the generational mindset keeping boomers from ever planning an exit "You're selling a really awesome job" -- why Main Street deals die while private equity roll-ups are buying up home services and specialty contracting The horror story: a $12 million contractor, due diligence that was death by a thousand stab wounds, and a buyer who retraded the deal at the finish line -- and why the sellers walked The opposite case: how a fractional CFO staged a company for sale after the CEO's death, and it sold faster than expected for more than the valuation Mark's de-risk framework: de-risk the owner, the vendors, the customer concentration, and the employees -- plus three to five years of clean financials The trick question Mark asks every owner -- "What's your business worth?" -- and the only two answers he accepts The one thing Mark wants every owner still inside this lie to hear before the episode ends The lie costs owners the exit itself. Every business owner will exit vertically or horizontally, and only God knows when. A good business does not guarantee a good exit -- preparation, timing, and a competitive process do. This episode is about finding that out now, while it can still be fixed. Watch on YouTube → https://www.youtube.com/@therealjasonduncan Subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts so you never miss a Monday conversation or a Wednesday What's Real drop. Get What's Real in Your Inbox Every Wednesday, Jason publishes What's Real: a newsletter that exposes the lies most people believe and reveals the truths they were never taught. Subscribe and get it delivered before the audio episode drops every week. Subscribe here: https://www.therealjasonduncan.com/articles Who Is Mark Hartmann? Mark Hartmann, MBA, is a New Jersey-based mergers and acquisitions advisor and the founder of HartmannRhodes. Before advising others, he built and sold his own three-time Inc. 5000 company, giving him the rare perspective of both founder and dealmaker. He is the best-selling author of Sweat Equity Payday: Sell Your Business Smart, Hit Your Number, Exit on Your Terms, a Certified Mergers & Acquisitions Professional (CM&AP), and a Certified Exit Planning Advisor (CEPA). He guides owners through every stage of the exit process. Website: https://www.hartmannrhodes.com Social Media: Search Mark Hartmann on LinkedIn Book: Sweat Equity Payday -- available on Amazon in hardcover, paperback, and Kindle ️ Want to be a guest on the show? Apply at → https://www.therealjasonduncan.com/guest ❤️ Love the show? Leave a 5-star review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify – it takes 30 seconds and helps more entrepreneurs find the truth they've been missing. Send this episode to someone who's counting on selling a business that still runs through them. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
