April 26, 2013
Craig Castelli
Bridge Ventures, LLC
Chicago, Illinois 60662
This story is about a stubborn old coot who thought he could sell his business without help. Big mistake. Having exhausted several attempts to sell my hearing aid practice from 2010 through 2012, I reluctantly dug out a business card from Craig Castelli of Bridge Ventures in Chicago. My last communication with Craig had gone something like this: “If things go south on the sale, I will get back to you.” It went all the way to the South Pole.
The first surprise came with the extraordinary and in-depth business valuation Craig generated. I received more information about the financial health of my business than during the course of my 23 year ownership. It underscored the reason I became an Audiologist and not an Accountant. When the time came to set the asking price my response was “Yeah, right!” Imagine my embarrassment when I was offered more than the asking price. Continue reading