Leaving corporate, buying a business, and scaling mindset with Alf Goodall of Cobble Design

Have you ever considered selling your business? If we're being honest, most of us have thought about this at some point. Entrepreneurship is hard and sometimes it can seem pretty attractive to think about selling the business and spending the rest of your days on a beach in Hawaii. Right? I know I'm not alone in this. But how do you actually do it? How long does it take? How much can you sell for? And what, exactly, would make your business attractive to be acquired? Today I'm chatting with Alf Goodall of Cobble Design. Alf is in a unique position to tell us what a buyer is looking for in a business because he was one - in June 2022 he bought Cobble Design, a 35 year old successful landscaping company in Zurich, Ontario. Alf shares his experiences in leaving an executive corporate position and buying a business, including what he was looking for when choosing a business to buy. - Why Alf decided to leave a senior executive position after 34 years and become an entrepreneur - When you're 90, what will you have regret not having done in your life? - Why being an entrepreneur might be financially *more stable* than a corporate job - Why he decided to buy a business instead of building one - What it REALLY looks like to sell a business (it's probably not what you think!) - Vendor takebacks: what they are and why you need to know about them - Why financials aren't the only thing to consider for your valuation - Why you don't want to wait until you want out of the business to sell - Founder mindset vs. scaling mindset Connect with Alf: https://www.cobbledesign.ca/ https://www.instagram.com/cobble_design_inc/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/alfgoodallexecutiveleader/ Connect with Nicole: https://www.nicolehaney.com/ https://www.instagram.com/itsnicolehaney/