Let's get your business ready to sell for more.
I work with owners of $2M to $10M local service businesses to build value and prepare a premium exit, judged by the standard a serious buyer actually uses.
Roughly 80% of small businesses listed for sale never sell. The ones that do often sell for half of what they could.
Buyers do not pay for what your business is today. They pay for what it will keep earning after you walk out the door.
- 01If your books are messy, you take a discount.
- 02If your business runs on you, you take a discount.
- 03If your top customer is more than 10% of revenue, you take a discount.
- 04If your foreman could quit tomorrow and tank the company, you take a discount.
The discount is not small. The same business, with the same customers and the same revenue, can sell for one of two prices: $1 million if it's run on a whiteboard, or $2.2 million if it's been prepared properly.
I am not a broker. I am not a consultant. I am the operator who has sat in the buyer's chair.
Brokers list your business and take their cut whether they grew it or not. Consultants charge for advice they never have to implement. Neither has sat across the table as the buyer. I have, and I still do. Here is what that changes when you work with me.
I have been the buyer. I prepare you to their standard.
I ran operations and acquisitions for a private equity fund, and I still acquire local service businesses today. I know what buyers scrutinize, what makes them discount, and what makes them compete and pay up. I prepare your business to that exact standard, so it sells for what it is truly worth.
We fix the business, not just the listing.
A broker lists what you have today and hopes a buyer shows up. I do the operational work first. Clean books, documented operations, stronger margins, less customer risk. We turn your company into the business a serious buyer competes to own.
One day gets you the full picture. Execution is optional.
The Intensive puts your number and the levers that raise it in writing. Most owners run the plan themselves. If you want help pulling the levers, I work alongside a handful of owners at a time. And when you are ready to sell, I can introduce you to my private buyer network and prepare you for their diligence.
The One-Day Exit Intensive.
One day with a buy-side operator. Walk out knowing your number, your gaps, and exactly what to fix first.
We spend a full day going through your business the way a buyer will. Your real financials, your operations, your team, your customer risk. By the end of the day you know the Gap in dollars: what your business would sell for today, what it could sell for prepared, and the specific levers that close the difference. Then I put it all in writing: the Buyer-Ready Roadmap, a plan built for your business. I do a few of these each month, personally.
- One day, in person or remote. Prep work happens first, so the day starts fast.
- The Gap named in dollars, plus your top value levers, ranked by payoff.
- The Buyer-Ready Roadmap in your hands within ten business days. Yours to keep.
- $5,000, backed by the $100,000 Gap Guarantee. If I don't find at least $100,000 in named, dollar-attached levers, you pay nothing and keep the Roadmap.
How the Intensive works.
One day working on the exit instead of in the business. I do the analysis. You keep 100% of your company and walk away with a written plan, whether or not we ever work together again.
- 01
The prep.
Before the day, you share three years of financials under NDA and complete the 22-point Buyer-Ready Scorecard. I do my homework before I walk in your door.
- 02
The buyer's walkthrough.
We go through the business the way an acquirer would. Books, operations, team, customers, contracts. We normalize your SDE and find the cash flow hiding in your statements.
- 03
The Gap, in dollars.
You see what a buyer would pay for your business today, what a prepared version would fetch, and the discounts you are taking right now.
- 04
The Buyer-Ready Roadmap.
Within ten business days you get the written plan: your top value levers, ranked, with the order and the timeline to pull them.
- 05
What comes next, if you want it.
Most owners execute the Roadmap themselves. If you want my help doing the work, we scope that privately. And when you are ready to sell, I can introduce you to my private buyer network and get you ready for their diligence.
Denver, Colorado
Jim Coleman, Founder of Slate Exit Advisory
From detective to exit advisor for local business owners.
I never planned on helping business owners prepare for the biggest financial event of their lives. My career actually started in a very different world, as a detective working crimes against children.
That work taught me how to see what others overlook, how to ask the questions no one else thinks to ask, and how to uncover the truth inside complicated situations. Years later, I realized those same skills were exactly what business owners needed when preparing their companies for a sale.
Over time, I sat on every side of the deal table. I built and sold businesses of my own, and the one I still own (about 70 employees) I have worked myself out of. I oversee it a couple of hours a week. The rest runs without me, because I built the systems and installed the leadership to make that possible. That is exactly the work I do for the owners I work with now. I also ran operations for a private equity fund, helped manage acquisitions, conducted deep due diligence, and improved companies from the inside. I still acquire local service businesses today, so the buyer's standard I prepare you for is the one I use myself.
What I saw again and again was that most local business owners do not leave money on the table because their business is weak. They leave money on the table because their business is not prepared in the way buyers expect. And most brokers do not fix any of that. They list the business as it stands, collect a fee, and move on.
So I decided to do things differently.
Today, I work with local business owners who want a clear, structured way to increase value, reduce chaos, and prepare their business for a smooth and profitable exit. My role is simple. I help you clean up your numbers, de-risk your operations, build buyer grade documentation, and guide you through every step from preparation to closing.
On a personal note, my wife Velvie and I live in the Denver area, where we raised a family of five children, most of whom are adults now. We were a foster family for many years and are also an adoptive family. That experience shaped the way I work with people. I lead with clarity, patience, and genuine care, and I bring that same approach to every business owner I serve.
If you want clarity, confidence, and someone in your corner who has truly been on all sides of a deal, I would love to learn more about your business and your exit goals.
Questions you're probably asking right now.
Ready to find out what your business is actually worth?
Start with a free 30-minute valuation call. I will bring a market brief built for your trade and your size: what businesses like yours actually sell for, and the levers that move the number. Five simple questions to book it, no P&L needed, and I will not pitch you. Fair warning: anyone who quotes your exact number without seeing your actuals is guessing. The real range comes next, under NDA, if you want it.