Your Business Unleashed Blog :
Articles by Gord McFarlane

What Can a Failed Acquisition Teach a Calgary Business Owner? Not every acquisition conversation ends in a signed deal and that's not necessarily a bad thing. For Calgary business owners thinking about an eventual exit,…

How Can a Calgary Business Owner Sell for a Bigger Multiple? Why do household-name companies routinely sell for so much more than a similarly profitable small business down the street? For Calgary business owners planning…

Should You Sell Your Calgary Business Now or Grow It First for a Bigger Payday? Brent Beshore never planned to become a private equity investor. He wasn't a Wall Street dealmaker, didn't study finance, and…

What Can a $380 Million Video Game Sale Teach Calgary Business Owners About Exit Planning? Most Calgary business owners think about exit planning only when retirement, burnout, or an unsolicited offer forces the question. But…

From Startup to Scale-Up: Why Must Founders Learn to Let Go? Many entrepreneurs excel at launching businesses. They thrive in the early days identifying opportunities, building products, and turning bold ideas into reality. But the…

How to Attract a Giant Like Facebook to Buy Your Company There’s an old saying in business: great companies are bought, not sold. If you appear too eager to exit, potential buyers will sense desperation…

Strategic Buyer vs. Financial Buyer: Which One Gets You the Best Deal? If you’re preparing to sell your business, one of the most important decisions you’ll face is choosing between a financial buyer and a…

Don’t Poke the Giant: What Happens When You Turn Down a Big Buyer On June 1, 2011, Floyd’s Coffee Shops in Portland, Oregon were busier than ever. Regular customers found themselves competing for space with…

The Build vs. Buy Decision: How to Make Your Business Irresistible to Acquirers If you’ve ever wondered what your business might be worth to a potential buyer, the answer often comes down to a simple…

Did Microsoft Overpay LinkedIn? Lessons on Strategic Acquisitions In 2016, Microsoft made headlines with its $26.2 billion acquisition of LinkedIn. At first glance, the deal raised eyebrows—LinkedIn’s earnings at the time didn’t seem to justify…

  How To Increase Your Company’s Value Before Selling Most business owners don’t plan to sell when they first start their company. But whether an exit is one year away or ten, the value of…

5 Strategic Ways to Make Your Business Attractive to Buyers When Facebook acquired WhatsApp for an astonishing $19 billion in 2014, it sent shockwaves through the business world. At the time, WhatsApp had around 450…