In this episode of the B2B Growth Blueprint Podcast, Mark Osborne sits down with Kresimir Peharda, an M&A advisor and business broker with a background as a transactional attorney. Kresimir shares what he sees in real deals in the lower middle market, especially for owners doing a few million up to $50 million in revenue. They talk about why many owners spend all their time planning the next quarter but avoid planning the transition itself, even though selling or handing off a business takes real preparation and time.

Kresimir breaks down how valuation works in the private market and why owners often overestimate what their business is worth. He explains the mix of objective factors like revenue and EBITDA, and subjective factors like reputation, systems, competitive moat, and industry dynamics. The conversation also covers why many businesses do not sell, how deal readiness is as much about commitment and decision-making as it is about documents, and how mini projects can improve transferability and reduce buyer risk. They also highlight the importance of having a deal team and the stability that comes from having a strong right-hand leader who can stay on after the owner exits.

Quotes:

• I think it was more of a zigzag than a straight line.

• Too many owners are focused just on the budget for next year, the next quarter, the next 6 months.

• You never look up and say, okay, what's the transition when I get tired, when I get sick, when I get bored, whatever it is.

• Valuation is about what a reasonable buyer is going to be willing to pay for that business.

• That's tricky in the private world because nobody has an established market.

• There are clearly objective data, and then there are more subjective criteria.

• If you haven't done documentation for 5 or 10 years, you're not going to fix that in a 3 to 6, 9-month process.

• It starts with the commitment to a sales process.

• For most of these owners, it means having two jobs, running their business, and also running a sales process.

• It's a kind of business dating to get those people together.

Takeaways:

• Planning only around budgets and quarters can leave owners unprepared for the day they need or want to transition out.

• Exit options start with honest internal questions about family succession, employee takeovers, and whether a sale is realistic.

• Business valuation in the private market is shaped by both financial performance and factors like systems, reputation, and industry-specific multiples.

• Many businesses fail to sell because they lack transferability and because they do not build a deal team of advisors.

• Even when a business cannot sell as a full operation, owners may still have options, but it can mean selling pieces like customer lists for less value.

• Readiness begins with a decision and commitment to sell, not just collecting documents.

• Mini-preparation projects like reducing client concentration or adjusting costs can improve attractiveness but skipping them usually means accepting a lower price.

• Buyers feel risk first, so sellers need to de-risk the deal, and one major lever is keeping a capable right-hand leader in place after the owner exits.

• A stable leadership handoff supports smoother transitions and can protect earn-out outcomes in deals.

Conclusion:

This conversation is a practical look at what makes a business sellable and what gets in the way when owners wait too long. Kresimir Peharda emphasizes that owners do not need a perfect business to begin preparing, but they do need clarity, realistic valuation expectations, and a willingness to commit to the workload of the sale process. With the right advisor team, focused improvement projects, and a plan to reduce buyer risk, owners can improve both outcomes and options, long before they ever go to market.

Links Mentioned:

• Email: [email protected]

• Kresimir's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kresimirpeharda/

• BizEx Business Brokers Website: https://www.bizex.net/