What factors entered into your decision to sell?

It was a combination between hitting a bit of a plateau from a growth standpoint and having a great offer from a great buyer that I really wanted to work with. The McWhorter team is a perfect fit for the SouthEastern locations and client base.

Did you use a broker and what was the sale experience like?

Yes, I worked with Max Drachman. It went incredibly smooth for having so many moving parts. It was beneficial having an independent party representing SouthEastern and to validate the multiple I was looking for. Max knows his stuff and I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend him to anyone.

What advice would you give to other entrepreneurs who may be close to selling?

I would say to go through everything as if you’re buying your own company. Make sure your trailing 12 month ad contracts match your P&L’s and your P&L’s match your tax returns. If you have assignment consent clauses in your land lease contracts, start getting landowner consent as early as you can. Landowners are known for dragging their feet and you don’t want that to hold up your deal!

What’s one thing you know now about being an out of home entrepreneur that you wish you knew when you started.

From a business standpoint, I didn’t know how to identify cash flow positive and a cash flow negative businesses and how vastly the difference between the two will affect your multiples. From an advertising standpoint, I didn’t know the difference between branding and direct response ads and when you sell a customer an ad that has a short term direct response mindset it can cause your churn rate to increase significantly. If I would’ve known about those things from day one, it would have certainly been helpful.

What’s next for you?

I’m hoping to be more active in the billboard community than before. I’ll still be working with the McWhorter team for the foreseeable future to help manage the Lynchburg locations. I’m also looking forward to being more active in the Billboard Entrepreneurs Facebook group and helping out anyone who is interested in getting in or growing within the industry.

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