Ep. 7 — Sam Thompson: Build the Next Chapter Before You Sell the Last One

4 min read

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Episode Summary

Most owners treat the exit as a transaction. Sign the LOI, take the check, figure out the rest later. Sam didn’t do it that way. He started thinking about leaving Metro Connections in 2005, got serious in 2010, and finally closed the internal sale to his three partners in 2012. In between, he read Built to Sell, restructured the company so each partner ran a function, promoted three women into department-leader roles, and quietly built his next career as a business intermediary before he ever signed papers. I had Sam on to walk through how he actually did it, what worked, and what almost broke. The SBA loan he wanted fell apart because one partner’s personal collateral got pulled into the deal. He ended up being the bank himself with a seven-year promissory note, and in hindsight he thinks that’s the version that actually worked. We also got into the part most owners skip. The plan for what you do the day after the wire hits.

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## Top 10 Takeaways
  1. Treating the exit as a transaction is how owners get blindsided. It is a multi-year process, not an event.
  2. If your business depends on you showing up, you don’t have a sellable business yet.
  3. Buyers look at three years of trending profit first. Stop optimizing for taxes in the years before you sell.
  4. SBA financing pulls personal collateral from every partner. If their assets are tied up, the deal can break.
  5. Holding the note yourself can outperform a lump-sum close. Interest income on a seven-year note compounds.
  6. The hardest part of building yourself out is the boredom that follows. Plan for what fills the calendar.
  7. Your next chapter should already be in motion before the wire hits, not after it.
  8. A valuation that scares the buyer off is worth less than a fair valuation that actually closes.
  9. Don’t hoard 100% of your shares. Good people stay when they own a piece of what they’re building.
  10. Six months of post-close transition is usually enough. A full year often wastes the buyer’s money and your time.

Sound Bites

“I had myself sitting in the corner office, not really being all that needed.” (@TBD) — Sam Thompson

“I’m amazed at how many business owners don’t have a plan, that they sell and they think okay, I have this windfall, sit around and play golf and travel a lot.” (@TBD) — Sam Thompson

“I was thinking more and more as the months went on about this new career and less and less about my business.” (@TBD) — Sam Thompson

“Make sure that when you’re ready to sell that you’re making money. You need three good years.” (@TBD) — Sam Thompson

About This Episode

Sam Thompson founded Metro Connections in 1984 with $3,000 of savings and grew it into a $16M conference, events, and transportation services business serving major corporate and association clients in the Twin Cities. Over nearly three decades he brought on three partners, weathered 9/11 by pivoting to local team-building events, and prepared for his own exit over a seven-year arc. He sold the business to his partners in 2012 via an internal buyout backed by a seven-year promissory note. Today he works as a business intermediary at Calhoun Companies, helping other owners navigate the sale process. This episode is one of the early Life After Business conversations focused on what planning a real exit actually looks like.

Resources Mentioned

  • Built to Sell by John Warrillow — The book that triggered Sam and his partners to start restructuring the business in 2010.
  • Calhoun Companies — Where Sam works today as a business intermediary.
  • SCORE — Mentor program where Sam got the early advice about not hoarding equity.

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