ownership
The First-Year Operations Audit: Find the Manual Work That's Costing You
Diligence never prices the manual duct tape a business runs on. A working checklist for finding the fragile processes that quietly eat hours in your first year of ownership.
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seller transition plan, business acquisition transition plan, seller handover, transferring customer relationships, business transition template, seller training period, post-closing transition, new owner announcement
The Seller Transition Plan Template: The 90 Days That Transfer the Goodwill
The 90-day seller transition plan: announcement scripts, the relationship transfer map, knowledge handover schedule & the seller's role, week by week.
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value creation playbook, increase business value, recurring revenue multiple, small business pricing strategy, debt paydown equity, add-on acquisitions, EBITDA growth, business value drivers
The Value Creation Playbook: What Actually Moves Returns in Search-Acquired Companies
The four disciplines the returns data rewards: recurring revenue, pricing, debt paydown & careful add-ons. And what didn't make the list, deliberately.
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second in command small business, when to hire a general manager, first leadership hire, integrator hire, delegation small business owner, hiring an operations manager, management depth, fractional CFO
When to Hire Your Second-in-Command (the Highest-Leverage Decision of the Hold)
The four signals it's time to hire your first leader, which seat to fill first & the three failure modes. Why this is the highest-leverage hire you make.
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board reporting template, monthly investor update, investor reporting small business, board meeting agenda, search fund board, CEO board communication, investor update format, quarterly board meeting
Board Reporting That Investors Actually Want (and the CEO It Protects)
The monthly investor update format that builds board trust: numbers vs plan, honest risks & one ask. Two hours a month, the cheapest insurance you own.
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search fund CEO salary, search fund CEO compensation, small business CEO pay, CEO compensation benchmarks, searcher salary, post-acquisition CEO compensation, CEO equity search fund, ETA compensation
Search Fund CEO Compensation: The 2026 Benchmarks
Search fund CEO pay by tenure: $256K median in year one to $325K at 5+ years, plus the equity outcomes data. How to run the comp talk with your board.
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