January 2026 Newsletter
The Benefits of Growth Through Acquisitions
CEO Advisor, Inc. works with CEOs and business owners to accelerate growth through strategic, opportunistic acquisitions. Additionally, we work with Private Equity (PE) firms on both a) Acquisition of new portfolio companies and b) Add-on acquisitions for their existing portfolio companies.
As a mergers and acquisitions (M&A) advisor with decades of experience, we are very hands-on and guide you through every step of the acquisition process. The benefits of growth through acquisitions are many, and should be part of every company’s growth plan. Our team is extremely seasoned so we are able to better serve our clients when contacting a 50, 60 or 70 year old business owner to sell his or her company versus most firms with twenty-four year old employees.
For small and mid-market companies, finding the right acquisition target takes focus, commitment and expertise. Finding great acquisition targets also requires a disciplined approach, experience, time, effort and focus. The benefits of making opportunistic acquisitions include:
As a mergers and acquisitions (M&A) advisor with decades of experience, we are very hands-on and guide you through every step of the acquisition process. The benefits of growth through acquisitions are many, and should be part of every company’s growth plan. Our team is extremely seasoned so we are able to better serve our clients when contacting a 50, 60 or 70 year old business owner to sell his or her company versus most firms with twenty-four year old employees.
For small and mid-market companies, finding the right acquisition target takes focus, commitment and expertise. Finding great acquisition targets also requires a disciplined approach, experience, time, effort and focus. The benefits of making opportunistic acquisitions include:
- Increasing Revenue and accelerating growth, while acquiring badly needed technology, products and services.
- Acquiring needed management team members and industry expertise to enable future growth.
- Adding to your programming/development team with specialized expertise.
- Adding Revenue to boost Gross Margin, while minimally increasing Overhead Expenses to further increase Net Profits and EBITDA.
- Increasing the value of your business by acquiring a business at a 1X or 2X Revenue multiple and combining it with your 3X or 4X Revenue multiple business making the acquisition accretive immediately. This same principle applies for acquiring a smaller company at a low EBITDA multiple and applying it to your higher EBIDTA multiple as a larger, more profitable company.
- Borrowing the money for the acquisition from a bank at 7% interest and gaining a 20% return annually.
- Acquiring a company that has specific strengths that your company lacks, such as a company with a strong national sales team or an international sales channel.
- Implementing an Acquisition Process that will fuel your growth on-going.
Strategic acquisitions take a real commitment, but are doable by most any company given the right team in place, including a corporate/transaction attorney, tax attorney/CPA and a M&A advisor to initiate and manage the entire transaction process.
Most small and mid-market companies that pursue acquisitions on their own miss real opportunities due to a lack of time, focus, a process and experience. Many companies tend to overpay so a defined, disciplined process with a seasoned M&A advisor is extremely important and will save your company a substantial amount of time and money.
Here are the most important steps to develop and implement with your M&A advisor, such as CEO Advisor, Inc., leading the initiative. Define your acquisition strategy considering the points below:
Most small and mid-market companies that pursue acquisitions on their own miss real opportunities due to a lack of time, focus, a process and experience. Many companies tend to overpay so a defined, disciplined process with a seasoned M&A advisor is extremely important and will save your company a substantial amount of time and money.
Here are the most important steps to develop and implement with your M&A advisor, such as CEO Advisor, Inc., leading the initiative. Define your acquisition strategy considering the points below:
- Define your investment criteria and budget for an acquisition
- Create an Information Request List and Due Diligence Checklist
- Build the Acquisition Target List with full contact information
- Begin the outreach to targeted companies
- Gather information from interested parties
- Secure conference calls and meetings to better understand the business and the management team
- Gain additional information needed to compose a non-binding Letter of Intent (LOI)
- Negotiate the Letter of Intent and finalize an LOI with a seller
- Perform Due Diligence to gain detailed information about the target company
- Renegotiate certain aspects of the LOI, if needed, depending on your Due Diligence results
- Have your corporate/transaction attorney draft the legal contracts
- Negotiate the legal contracts with the assistance of your attorney for legal issues, your CPA for tax issues and your M&A advisor for business issues and deal points.
- Draft the documents required for the Conditions to Close
- Close
- Post-acquisition integration
CEO Advisor, Inc. has the expertise and experience to guide you through this exciting acquisition process to grow your business to the next level. Contact Mark Hartsell, MBA, President of CEO Advisor, Inc. at (949) 629-2520, by mobile phone at (714) 697-3370, by email at MHartsell@CEOAdvisor.com or visit us at www.CEOAdvisor.com for more information.
Invest in Yourself in 2026 - 5 Critical Steps
As a business owner and CEO, you make investments in your business on an on-going basis. The question is – are you investing in yourself? Investing in yourself and your business may generate the largest return on any investment you can make anywhere on this planet.
Investing in yourself - whether growing your business or selling your company - will ensure you are making the best decisions and enables you to better dictate your future and your success. Investing in yourself will add critical skills (remedy your blind spots) that will be the difference in far greater success. Investing in yourself and your business also enables you to increase sales, profits and the value of your business toward an exit and the largest payday of your life.
Different than investing in real estate, bonds or equities, investing in yourself is the key to your success provided you have the proper advice and road map to achieve your goals. Don't go it alone - this may be the most important step of your life. Meet with a business or mergers and acquisitions (M&A) advisor to discuss the steps below, and to address the specific needs of both you and your company.
“Investing in yourself is the best thing you can do. Anything that improves your own talents; nobody can tax it or take it away from you. They can run up huge deficits and the dollar can become worth far less. You can have all kinds of things happen. But if you've got talent yourself, and you've maximized your talent, you've got a tremendous asset that can return 10-fold,” Buffett said during an interview with ABC News.
Here are 5 steps you can take right now that will pay tremendous dividends:
Investing in yourself - whether growing your business or selling your company - will ensure you are making the best decisions and enables you to better dictate your future and your success. Investing in yourself will add critical skills (remedy your blind spots) that will be the difference in far greater success. Investing in yourself and your business also enables you to increase sales, profits and the value of your business toward an exit and the largest payday of your life.
Different than investing in real estate, bonds or equities, investing in yourself is the key to your success provided you have the proper advice and road map to achieve your goals. Don't go it alone - this may be the most important step of your life. Meet with a business or mergers and acquisitions (M&A) advisor to discuss the steps below, and to address the specific needs of both you and your company.
“Investing in yourself is the best thing you can do. Anything that improves your own talents; nobody can tax it or take it away from you. They can run up huge deficits and the dollar can become worth far less. You can have all kinds of things happen. But if you've got talent yourself, and you've maximized your talent, you've got a tremendous asset that can return 10-fold,” Buffett said during an interview with ABC News.
Here are 5 steps you can take right now that will pay tremendous dividends:
1. Strategic DirectionThe direction of your business is critical to your success, especially if you are considering selling your business. Now is the time to re-assess, strategize and assess your progress and make needed adjustments in your business. Growing 10% year after year is not a gauge of success, and certainly will not increase the value of your business. With a clear strategy and sales focus you will ensure success in 2026 and beyond. For over 20 years, CEO Advisor, Inc. has helped CEOs create strategies for increased sales, profits and business value toward an optimal exit. We are experts in selling companies and can help every step of the process.
2. FocusIf you are not sure where you're going, you will never get there. Focus on your highest priorities and document your priorities with target completion dates and who will accomplish them. If you are thinking about selling your company, seek an M&A advisor like CEO Advisor, Inc. to assist you in preparing for a sale. Focus on what meets prospects and customers' needs, drives sales and profits, and builds value in your company. A business/M&A advisor that specializes in working with small and mid-size company CEOs can be a tremendous asset to you and your company by working with you weekly hands-on to achieve your goals.
3. Review the NumbersCreate key metrics in a Management Dashboard for your business that will clearly tell you if you are on track to achieve results, maximize profits and optimize the value of your business. This will provide easy to access information that is critical to success. Review your Financials and make sure to understand your Financial Statements thoroughly so you can address specific aspects of your business and make needed decisions based on your Financials. Track these key metrics and Financials monthly as a critical step in the health, growth and success of your business.
Defining and tracking these key metrics will substantially increase sales and profits, enabling you to make faster and improved decisions. CEO Advisor, Inc. regularly assists CEOs in setting up these key metrics in a Management Dashboard to drive success and can help you analyze your Financials and provide feedback on how to maximize your profits and valuation.
4. Set Your Goals and Develop an Exit StrategyEstablish clear near-term and long-term goals for both you and your business. Create and prioritize major initiatives and deadlines around what is needed to accomplish these goals. Then, develop a clear Exit Strategy as a path to prepare for and sell your business. This can be one of the best decisions you can make so act on it.
5. Invest in Needed AdviceThe business and mergers and acquisitions issues above are just some of the more critical issues that you must tackle every day. The impact on your business, your life, your bottom line, your cash flow and the value of your business is tremendous. A trusted, seasoned business / M&A advisor can be the difference in your business success and achieving your life's dreams of a successful exit. CEO Advisor, Inc. provides trusted, affordable advisory services that will impact your life tremendously.
Contact Mark Hartsell, MBA, President of CEO Advisor, Inc. for a no cost initial consultation at (949) 629-2520, by mobile phone at (714) 697-3370, by email at MHartsell@CEOAdvisor.com or visit us at www.CEOAdvisor.com for more information.
2. FocusIf you are not sure where you're going, you will never get there. Focus on your highest priorities and document your priorities with target completion dates and who will accomplish them. If you are thinking about selling your company, seek an M&A advisor like CEO Advisor, Inc. to assist you in preparing for a sale. Focus on what meets prospects and customers' needs, drives sales and profits, and builds value in your company. A business/M&A advisor that specializes in working with small and mid-size company CEOs can be a tremendous asset to you and your company by working with you weekly hands-on to achieve your goals.
3. Review the NumbersCreate key metrics in a Management Dashboard for your business that will clearly tell you if you are on track to achieve results, maximize profits and optimize the value of your business. This will provide easy to access information that is critical to success. Review your Financials and make sure to understand your Financial Statements thoroughly so you can address specific aspects of your business and make needed decisions based on your Financials. Track these key metrics and Financials monthly as a critical step in the health, growth and success of your business.
Defining and tracking these key metrics will substantially increase sales and profits, enabling you to make faster and improved decisions. CEO Advisor, Inc. regularly assists CEOs in setting up these key metrics in a Management Dashboard to drive success and can help you analyze your Financials and provide feedback on how to maximize your profits and valuation.
4. Set Your Goals and Develop an Exit StrategyEstablish clear near-term and long-term goals for both you and your business. Create and prioritize major initiatives and deadlines around what is needed to accomplish these goals. Then, develop a clear Exit Strategy as a path to prepare for and sell your business. This can be one of the best decisions you can make so act on it.
5. Invest in Needed AdviceThe business and mergers and acquisitions issues above are just some of the more critical issues that you must tackle every day. The impact on your business, your life, your bottom line, your cash flow and the value of your business is tremendous. A trusted, seasoned business / M&A advisor can be the difference in your business success and achieving your life's dreams of a successful exit. CEO Advisor, Inc. provides trusted, affordable advisory services that will impact your life tremendously.
Contact Mark Hartsell, MBA, President of CEO Advisor, Inc. for a no cost initial consultation at (949) 629-2520, by mobile phone at (714) 697-3370, by email at MHartsell@CEOAdvisor.com or visit us at www.CEOAdvisor.com for more information.
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