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PAPER NAPKIN WISDOM GROWTH HUB
Exits, Freedom and the Second Stage
The best Paper Napkin Wisdom conversations on exits, freedom and the second stage, chosen and in order.
Michael Walsh says owners want freedom more than money. In his Freedom by Design series he names three kinds. Freedom in the business, freedom from it, and freedom because of it. Rick Sapio has invested in 75 businesses. He builds them to be sold. Dustin Wells worked out his number before an offer came. That let him wait and negotiate from strength.
Selling isn't the end of the story. Rick Martinez sold his medical staffing company and felt a void. This can't be what it was about, he thought. Sean Finter grew one bar in Sydney into eight. Then he took a consulting firm to 28 offices. The code that built it all stopped working. His word for the business plan changed from more to what for.
My own episodes here are about the second stage. Becoming valuable to the business, and less necessary to it. Choosing what winning means now. Hugo Brooks has a name for running the same play again. Ambition autopilot.
“It's not the money, it's freedom they want.”
Michael Walsh, Episode 243
Start here: the top 10
1
How to Get Freedom From Your Business: Michael Walsh's Three Levels
Episode 243 · Michael Walsh
Freedom by Design: the three levels of freedom from your business.
2
How to Build a Business You Can Sell: Rick Sapio on the Four Ps
Episode 62 · Rick Sapio
Selling: how to build a business you can sell, Rick Sapio's Four Ps.
3
How Much Is Enough to Sell Your Business? Dustin Wells on Your Number
Episode 245 · Dustin Wells
Selling: how much is enough, knowing your number before an offer comes.
4
Empty After Selling Your Company? Rick Martinez on Finding What's Next
Episode 82 · Rick Martinez
Selling: the emptiness after the sale and what comes next.
5
Freedom From Your Business: Michael Walsh's 7-Part Framework
Episode 284 · Michael Walsh
Freedom by Design finale: the seven-part framework for a business that runs without you.
6
Why Founders Run Yellow Lights: Sean Finter on Rewriting Old Code
Episode 383 · Sean Finter
Sean Finter: the code that built your business stops working, and the question of what the business is actually for.
7
Why Thinking Big Isn't Enough to Grow: Michael Walsh on Structure
Episode 118 · Michael Walsh
Freedom by Design: thinking big isn't enough without the structures that free the owner.
8
Valuable, Not Necessary: When Your Business Still Depends on You
Episode 366 · Edge of the Napkin
Second stage: valuable, not necessary, when the business still depends on you.
9
You Don't Have to Grow: What Does Winning Mean to You Now?
Episode 388 · Edge of the Napkin
Second stage: you don't have to grow; choosing what winning means now.
10
When Ambition Starts Making Your Decisions For You
Episode 403 · Hugo Brooks
Second stage: a serial builder-and-seller on ambition autopilot and the question his wife asked.
The Subtraction Test
Before you sell or step back, the Subtraction Test asks what happens to your team the season you're gone, in about two minutes.
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