S18 E9: Built to Sell: From Daily Grind to Exit by Design with Gregg Schonhorn

Are you running your business, or is your business running you? In this episode of the Smells Like Money podcast, host Suzan Chin Taylor sits down with Gregg Schonhorn of SF&P Advisors to dive into a topic many contractors and entrepreneurs avoid: exit strategies and succession planning. Gregg shares his journey from Wall Street to executive coaching and Mergers & Acquisitions (M&A), bringing massive insights into how business owners can scale their operations for a highly profitable future exit. They unpack the critical internal systems that separate a thriving, sellable business from one that is bleeding revenue, while exploring a major industry pain point: why business owners mistakenly blame their marketing agencies when the real issue lies within their own sales processes and internal operations. Key Takeaways From This Episode:- The Reality of Exiting: Every business owner will eventually exit their company, whether voluntarily or involuntarily. Long range planning and a solid succession strategy are essential for securing your legacy and maximizing your company value.- Stop Blaming the Marketing Agency: When business owners complain that their marketing sucks, the root cause is rarely a lack of leads. It is almost always an internal process problem, such as unmanaged CSR pipelines, high numbers of unsold estimates, or poor lead conversion systems.- The Revenue Hiding in Your CRM: A $5 million company often sits on $600,000 to $800,000 in unsold estimates. Before demanding more leads, businesses need to optimize their call tracking, quality control, average ticket prices, and internal follow up systems.- The 24/7/365 Business Model: If your Google profile or website lists your business hours as Monday through Friday from 9 to 5, you are actively losing emergency revenue. Modern service providers must utilize AI automated answering systems and after hours processes to capture leads the moment they roll in.- Evolving Your Growth Tactics: What gets a business from zero to $1 million in revenue requires a relentless daily hustle, like home shows and physical community outreach. However, scaling from $5 million to $15 million and beyond requires stepping away from the daily grind and focusing heavily on long term branding, community presence, and robust infrastructure.Connect with Gregg Schonhorn:SF&P AdvisorsContact: [email protected]: https://www.linkedin.com/company/sf&p-advisors/ Website: sfpadvisors.comI hope you find this episode as informative and as exciting as we have.Please let us know your thoughts about the episode!Connect with Suzan Chin-Taylor, host of The DooDoo Diva's Smells Like Money Podcast:Website: www.creativeraven.com | https://thetuitgroup.com/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/creativeraven/Email: [email protected] Telephone: +1 760-217-8010Listen and subscribe here to your favorite platform:Apple Podcast - Google Podcast - Cast Box - Overcast - Pocket Casts - YouTube - Spotifyhttps://creativeraven.com/smells-like-money-podcast/ Subscribe to the Podcast:https://creativeraven.com/smells-like-money-podcast/Be a guest on our show:https://calendly.com/thetuitgroup/be-a-podcast-guestCheck Out my NEW Digital Marketing E-Course & Coaching Program just for Wastewater Pros:https://store.thetuitgroup.com/diy-digital-marketing-playbook-for-wastewater-pros#SmellsLikeMoneyPodcast #BuiltToSell #ExitStrategy #SuccessionPlanning #BusinessScaling #MergersAndAcquisitions #WastewaterIndustry #ContractorLife #WWETTShow