Summary
Welcome back to the Startup Junkies Podcast!
Our hosts Matthew Ward, Caleb Tally, and Jeff Amerine meet with Jessica Fialkovich of Transworld Business Advisors and Exit Factor in this week’s episode. Working in five startups, overseeing millions in transactions, with 1,000 business owners and over 300 deals… we were fortunate to hear Jessica’s story and advice!
Thanks for tuning in!
Shownotes
(1:22) Introducing Jessica Yokovitch
(1:47) Jessica’s Path to Entrepreneurship
(5:05) Creation of Exit Factor
(7:07) Pro Tips on Business Selling
(9:28) Exiting & Multigenerational Business Plans
(13:56) Small Business Advocacy
(20:20) The Startup Itch
(23:40) Navigating a Husband and Wife Team
(28:23) Advice to Younger Self
(29:29) Wrap Up
Links
Quotes
“There’s this fallacy of protection and security in corporate jobs… I mean, really the only security you can have is for yourself.” (2:39)
“There is some emotion around this [multigeneratinal business plans] when they thought it was going to be a legacy business. But, their legacy can continue, because if you can extract finances, you can extract money out of a sale, then you can fund what’s going to be the next legacy project for your family and the next generation.” (11:29)
“What we’ve seen is the necessity for dissemination of information and helping business owners get through crises.” ( 14:33)
“[Work-Life balance is] just an ebb and flow…Cause it’s never balanced.” (27:04)
“I always say that I would have told myself, you don’t have to do this all on your own.” (28:42)
How to Exit Well with Jessica Yakovitch
Often we discuss how to start or grow a business, but what strategies do we implement when the time comes to sell a business?
On this week’s episode of the Startup Junkie’s Podcast, our hosts Matthew Ward, Caleb Tally, and Jeff Amerine sit down with Jessica Fialkovich of Transworld and Exit Factor to discuss how to sell your business, leave a legacy, and continue on as a serial entrepreneur.
Read, watch, or listen to learn alongside us from the expert exit junkie!
From Startup Junkie to Exit Junkie
Jessica’s credibility has preceded her. Her history consists of overseeing $250 million in transactions, working with 700 business owners, and being involved in 350 deals. But how did she get there?
After the 2008 recession leaving her and her husband unemployed, Jessica realized something had to change. At the age of 24 Jessica joined her first startup and dove headfirst into the entrepreneurial world. Five Startups later, she had a history of exiting well and thus began coaching others along that path. The heartbeat of her serial entrepreneurship comes from her belief that the only control we have over our lives is to design something for ourselves.
“There’s this fallacy of, uh, protection and security and, uh, corporate jobs or anything. I mean, really the only security you can have is for yourself.” (2:39)
With her time in co-owning Transworld Business Advisors, Jessica noticed that unlike houses, not every business listed for sale will actually sales That got her innovative thoughts cooking and lead to her founding of Exit Factor. Exit Factor would serve to advise on buying, building, and selling to maximize the value of small businesses.
Pro Tips on Selling Your Business
The first step is educating yourself on your own company’s business sales work and valuation, Jessica claims. Educating yourself in the business world will make you more successful than half the startups around. Next, eliminating deal-killers, such as not having books and records cleaned up, needs to occur. Lastly, she helps the business owner increase their value. This does not look like making the business about yourself, but on the flip side focusing on the team and company.
Multigenerational Plans vs. Millennials and Gen Z
It is no surprise that the individualistic spirit of millennials and Gen Z contrast that of Baby Boomers. Baby Boomers own 60% of all small businesses within the U.S., and with that comes a gap between multigenerational business plans and business exiting. Exit Factor steps into both help transition to family members and outside buyers, and the latter is becoming more popular by the day. Getting the original founders positioned and prepared to extract value is how Exit Factor protects retiree’s in this modern age.
“There is some emotion around this when they thought it was going to be a legacy business, but their legacy can continue. Cause if you can extract. Finances, you can extract money out of a sale. You can then fund what’s going to be the next legacy project for your family and the next generation.” (11:29)
Small Business Advocacy and Altruism
The future for Jessica looks like launching a non-profit to educate business owners on the impacts of government regulation and how it affects their business. After this year’s crisis, Jessica saw that just knowing information on how to utilize resources would affect a company’s long-term planning and profitability.
Navigating a Husband and Wife Team
On the one hand, Jessica loves it but is hesitant to recommend the marriage business duo. With them both bringing complementary skills alongside clear communication and similar goals, it was a melting pot perfect for working together.
It all also boils down to the values that they hold. Both see the work/life balance as an ebb and flow, with this past year, in particular, being heavily on the side of work. The belief is that when you love what you do, you can have a seemingly unbalanced life and still thrive.
“If you enjoy it, if you really love what you’re doing, you don’t feel like you’re missing out on anything.” (27:09)
Stay tuned each week for more great conversations with entrepreneurs from across the U.S and beyond!
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