Thinking about selling? Five more years could be worth far more than five times.

For owners of established, profitable businesses who'd like to sell in the next several years and still have five more years of fight left in them. Follow a playbook that has worked for other owners, build a much bigger company first, and sell it, or your shares, on your terms.

Led by Joel Arberman: more than 30 years across Wall Street, Bay Street and his own companies, and 17 companies taken public, several of them his own.

Where the extra millions come from

Private businesses usually sell for a modest multiple of earnings. Larger, growing companies with access to capital tend to be valued at higher multiples. The playbook is about moving your company from the first group to the second before you sell.

• Sell today: $1 million in earnings × 4 = $4 million
• Same earnings, playbook in place: $1 million × 10 = $10 million
• After 3 to 5 years of growth and acquisitions: $2 million × 10 = $20 million

Hypothetical illustration only, not a projection or promise. Multiples vary widely by industry, size, growth and market conditions, and your result could be lower. We'll walk through realistic numbers for your business in the first conversations.

Why the buyer usually makes more than the seller

Private equity firms buy companies like yours at a low multiple, combine several of them, and later sell the larger group at a higher multiple. That gap is a big part of how they make their money.

The playbook flips it around. Instead of being one of the companies that gets rolled up, you become the one doing the rolling up, and you keep more of that upside for yourself. Be the roll-up, not the rolled-up.

Five levers that make your company worth more

• Attract better talent. Offer stock with a real market value. Strong people bring customers, relationships and new opportunities with them, and a company that runs without you is worth more to every buyer.
• Acquire competitors. Use your stock, not just cash, to buy smaller rivals and suppliers. Each deal adds earnings and can lift what the whole company is worth.
• Raise capital, if you want to. Fund growth or acquisitions on your terms, without handing control to a private equity firm.
• Credibility and partnerships. Audited financials and public reporting open doors with lenders, larger customers and strategic partners, and give future buyers numbers they can trust.
• More ways to exit. Sell the whole company later at a larger size, sell shares gradually over time, or keep running it. You aren't limited to one buyer and one deal.

Is this you?

A good fit if you

• Own an established, profitable business
• Are thinking about selling in the next several years
• Would put in 3 to 5 more years to make it worth far more
• See competitors you could buy, or want to grow faster
• Want an experienced adviser alongside you

Probably not right if you

• Need to be fully out within the next 1 to 2 years
• Don't want outside shareholders or public reporting
• Are looking for a guaranteed price or quick cash

How it works

Your company is always in one of three modes. The work, and the monthly fee, follow the mode you're in.

1. Raising. Every engagement starts here: every company going public needs more shareholders, and almost every one needs capital too. We organize the company for life as a public company: structure, cap table, financial records and governance. Then we prepare your private placement, sized to your plan: funding growth, giving you enough shareholders to list, or bringing key people and partners in as shareholders. You raise it, from your own network or beyond it, and we coach you through it.

2. Listing. With the capital in place, we manage the process of becoming a public company, usually by direct listing on the OTCQB. We bring in the auditors and securities lawyers you need and coordinate the whole sequence.

3. Building. Strategic advice whenever we're not running a listing: hiring, acquisitions, capital, and positioning the company for the exit you want, whether that's selling the whole company, uplisting to a bigger exchange, or selling shares gradually.

Selling now vs. following the playbook

• Valuation: a lower multiple of today's earnings, vs. the potential for a higher multiple on a bigger business
• Who sets the price: a small group of buyers, vs. a public market plus strategic buyers later
• Growth tools: cash and bank debt, vs. stock for hires and acquisitions, plus optional capital raises
• Control: usually ends at closing, vs. you keep running the company
• Time and effort: a sale is usually faster, vs. about a year to list, then 3 to 5 years of building

What it costs

Start for $10,000 a month while you're raising. That mode typically runs about two months, so about $20,000. After that, the monthly fee follows the mode you're in and your company's size and scope. We also hold equity, so we do well only when you do.

Third-party costs (audit, legal, accounting, exchange and filing fees) are paid directly to those providers. We'll give you a realistic estimate once we've seen your financials. For comparison, a traditional sale often pays an M&A adviser 3% to 5% of the deal at closing, and afterward you no longer own the company.

You won't be doing this alone

I'm Joel Arberman. I started as an equity analyst at asset management firms in New York, and at 22 became a partner at a 700-person investment bank, where I learned how buyers and investors value a company and why some are worth so much more than others. I've spent more than 30 years across Wall Street, Bay Street and my own companies, and taken 17 companies public, several of them my own.

Today I help established owners carry out this playbook, so the company they eventually sell is far bigger, and worth far more, than the one they have today.

Questions owners ask

Is this an IPO?

Usually not. There's no big Wall Street underwriting or roadshow. Most companies list through a direct listing on the OTCQB, which is simpler and less costly, and can move up to Nasdaq or the NYSE later.

What is the OTCQB?

A U.S. public market for smaller and growing companies. Companies on it file audited financials and regular reports, and the public can buy and sell their shares.

Will there be buyers for my shares?

Honestly, trading in smaller public companies can be thin, especially at first, and no one can promise a share price or trading volume. Building real investor interest takes time and results.

Do I lose control of my company?

No. You stay in charge and usually keep majority ownership. You'll have outside shareholders, a board and reporting duties, and we'll explain exactly what that means day to day.

How long does it take?

Listing typically takes about a year. The growth and acquisition phase that drives the bigger outcome usually runs 3 to 5 years.

What if I want to sell in the next year or two?

Then this probably isn't the right path, and a traditional sale may suit you better. We're happy to tell you that on the first call.

Are you a broker-dealer or investment bank?

No. Meraki Partners, LLC is an advisory firm. We don't sell securities or introduce you to investors. Where you need an auditor or securities attorney, you hire them directly, and we help you choose and manage them.

Not ready to talk yet? Ask for the free Building to Sell guide in the form below.