Buyers:If you’re in the middle of a deal and the valuation doesn’t support the price, don’t ask, “How do we get the valuation up?” Ask, “What part of this deal is the market refusing to pay for?” Don’t force the valuation to match your price. Make the price match reality. Lenders:If you’re underwriting a deal … Continue reading Deal Attachment Insight #3
Deal Attachment
Deal Attachment Insight #2
Buyers:If you want to prove you’re ready to own a business, don’t prove it by forcing a close. Prove it by protecting the downside: demanding clean earnings, stress-testing the story, and letting the price adjust to reality. The goal isn’t ownership at any cost. The goal is ownership that doesn’t require hope to make the … Continue reading Deal Attachment Insight #2
Deal Attachment Insight #1
Buyers:Before you push to “make the numbers work,” ask yourself three questions: If this valuation came in higher, would I still do the same diligence? If I had no sunk costs so far, would I still pay this price today? What has to go right for me to be okay—and what happens if it doesn’t? … Continue reading Deal Attachment Insight #1
The Deal You Need Is the Deal That Can Hurt You: Why emotional attachment, moral hazard, and “forced closings” destroy value after the ink dries
There’s a predictable pattern I’ve seen across many acquisitions, especially in small business transactions where buyers are highly motivated and timelines are tight. It starts innocently: A buyer finds a business they love. The story makes sense. The seller is cooperative. The broker is confident. The lender is engaged. Everyone can picture the closing. Then … Continue reading The Deal You Need Is the Deal That Can Hurt You: Why emotional attachment, moral hazard, and “forced closings” destroy value after the ink dries
The Most Ethical Sentence in a Deal
There’s a sentence that can save buyers, lenders, and entire portfolios: “We’re not doing this until it’s fully vetted.” That sentence is leadership.That sentence is ethics.That sentence is risk management. Because forcing a deal through may feel like competence in the moment. But if the deal was overpriced relative to fair market value, and the … Continue reading The Most Ethical Sentence in a Deal
Discipline Is a Market Stabilizer
People often treat discipline like an individual virtue. It’s more than that. Discipline stabilizes markets. When buyers refuse to overpay, sellers price realistically.When lenders enforce standards, brokers adapt.When professionals remain independent, deals get cleaner. But when discipline collapses, everyone learns that pressure works. And pressure-driven markets destroy value because they reward behavior that ignores risk. … Continue reading Discipline Is a Market Stabilizer
The Real Cost of Overpaying Is What You Can’t Do After Close
Overpaying doesn’t just cost money. It costs flexibility. It costs reinvestment capacity.It costs marketing runway.It costs the ability to absorb a mistake.It costs the ability to pivot. And for many small businesses, flexibility is the true competitive advantage. When a buyer pays too much, the business becomes fragile—even if it’s operationally healthy. That fragility shows … Continue reading The Real Cost of Overpaying Is What You Can’t Do After Close
Value Destruction Is Usually Boring, Not Dramatic
People imagine value destruction as catastrophe. In reality, it’s usually slow. a few missed targets, delayed hiring, deferred capex, margin compression, a bad season you can’t absorb, stress decisions made under pressure, quality slipping, turnover rising. Nothing explodes. The business just gradually becomes less resilient. And that’s the tragedy of overpaying: it quietly reduces optionality. … Continue reading Value Destruction Is Usually Boring, Not Dramatic
When Weak Deals Close, They Teach the Wrong Lesson
Every forced deal that closes sends a message: “This is acceptable.” And that message shapes future behavior. Buyers learn: “Push hard enough, you can get it done.”Brokers learn: “The market will stretch.”Lenders learn: “We can manage it.”Sellers learn: “We can get a premium.” But reality doesn’t go away. Weak deals that close don’t eliminate risk.They … Continue reading When Weak Deals Close, They Teach the Wrong Lesson
The “Make It Work” Mindset Turns Professionals Into Enablers
There’s a point where good advisors face a choice: Do we remain independent professionals? Or do we become deal advocates? Forced deals pressure everyone—quietly—to become an enabler. The buyer wants justification. The broker wants momentum. The lender wants a clean closing. The seller wants certainty. So the role of the professional can drift from analysis … Continue reading The “Make It Work” Mindset Turns Professionals Into Enablers
Highland Global Business Valuations 