Mary Marshall

Mary E. Marshall is an entrepreneur who has spent her career making small businesses into successful ventures. She has done this both as a CEO and business owner herself and as an executive coach

The Phantom of the Offer

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CEO Notes Journal Entry December 13 It’s finally going to happen!!! I spoke to the broker today, and he confirmed the buyer is very interested and that we’re in the ballpark of our asking price and the terms of the deal are all good. Boy, … Read more

Division of Multiples

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MINUTES OF PHOENIX RISERS’ BOARD OF DIRECTORS MEETING NOVEMBER 18th 9:01: Discussion of sale begins. Strategic plan has been successful; revenue growth, gross margin, and profit margin all aligned and on track based on feedback from Shuster & Schuckster Investment House. 9:16: CFO discusses the … Read more

Loyalty to Comrades

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Sent: September 1 From: Dean Chompers, CEO To: Rick Dogood, Premium Investors Subject: Offer Letter Rick, I have some serious concerns about the offer and the deal points. In section 3, it discusses the payout packages for Larry and Joe, both of whom have been … Read more

The Impossible Divorce

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Sent: November 2, 4:23 p.m. From: Stan, CEO, Stan the Man Movers To: Exec. Team Partners Subject: Valuation & Offer Guys, The valuation came back today from Princeling Partners, and it looks exactly like what we’ve been hunting for $25M plus shares in the new … Read more

Getting Sweet on Sugar Daddy

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Sent: December 12, 2:10 p.m. From: Savannah, CEO To: James, Partner, Private Equity Investments of North America Subject: Dinner? Holiday cocktail? Hi James, We met at a recent WPO conference. I hope you remember me. I am the founder and CEO of Pouty & Pretty … Read more

Lost and Founder

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Sent: June 22, 2:00 p.m. From: Jane, Director of Marketing To: Bob, Director of Business Development Subject: Craig’s Role Bob, Have you seen Craig this week at all? I thought he was coming to the quarterly marketing meeting, but he was a no-show. Does he … Read more

Exit Ramp Detours

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Strategies that don’t start with the end goal in mind will usually miss the exit ramp every time. Founders of small to midsize companies rarely think about the day they will sell or be forced out of the business. Unless, of course, they run a … Read more

S.M.A.R.T Goals Are Dumb

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A TALE OF TWO CEOS John was a numbers guy—always enamored with how he could measure literally everything and everyone. He had statistics tracking how often people were late for work and could predict when the next person would be late, based on his calculations. … Read more

The Plan Is the Plan Is the Plan

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This is the story of George. George is an executive at a large manufacturing plant employing approximately 250 people. Throughout his career, he’s been called the golden boy or the one with the golden touch. Everything he’s ever set out to do professionally has turned … Read more

Boxers or Briefs?

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Sent: August 29, 12:44 p.m. From: CEO To: Companywide Subject: Strat. Plan Decisions Hello everyone, I’m very excited to announce that our leadership team has created an amazing plan for 2020! Now everyone gets to help implement it. We will be posting the plan shortly, … Read more