Two complementary series teach you how to sell your business
One features individual buyers explaining their acquisition criteria and strategy. The other brings individual experts who guide you on preparing for sale and positioning your company. Together, you get the buyer's perspective and the advisor's expertise.
Building a business that can grow and eventually exit with Jeff Walters
David Prowse of the Shaughnessy Group speaks with Jeff Walters of Walters and Associates about the human and operational work required to build a healthy, valuable business. Their discussion explores how owners can step out of the weeds, strengthen leadership and communication, prepare for succession, and close the gap between perceived and market value.
Planning early gives business owners more options: A conversation with Kyle Pearce
In this expert interview, David Prowse of the Shaughnessy Group speaks with Kyle Pearce about how incorporated business owners can effectively connect their tax, investment, insurance, and exit planning. Pearce explains why an education-first approach empowers owners to coordinate their advisers and make major financial decisions with confidence.
Selling a Canadian business in a buyer-hungry market with M&A adviser Mark Borkowski
Mark Borkowski, president of M&A Mercantile, draws on 38 years of experience to explain the current mergers and acquisitions landscape for privately held companies. In this interview, he covers essential topics for owners looking to exit, including how to evaluate strategic buyers versus private equity, the importance of a quality-of-earnings report, and why preparation should begin years before a sale.
Building a business that can thrive without its founder with Luisa De Jesus
Financial statements tell only part of the story when an owner prepares to sell a business. Buyers also require confidence that the organization can sustain revenue, make decisions and operate entirely without its founder. In this interview, David Prowse speaks with fractional HR leader Luisa De Jesus about the importance of professionalizing owner-managed companies.
How to build a business ready to sell: Exit planning with CPA Bob Gauvreau .
Their conversation covers the shift from reactive to proactive tax planning, navigating the $1.25-million Lifetime Capital Gains Exemption, and the importance of establishing the right corporate structure well in advance. They also explore the “value gap” between owners and buyers, the negotiations between asset and share sales, and why clean financial projections and quality-of-earnings reports are critical for minimizing buyer risk and maximizing a company's sale price.
Why neglected legal details can kill your Canadian business exit, with lawyer Wes Forgione.
From messy corporate minute books and dangerous change-of-control clauses in customer contracts to the severe financial liabilities of poorly worded employment contracts, learn exactly how to clean up your corporate house before going to market. Forgione also shares practical strategies to reduce owner dependence and introduces the concept of a sell-side "Quality of Legal" report to streamline buyer due diligence.
How to scale your business and prepare for a successful exit with Roy De Medeiros.
Discover why a business exit should be treated as a process rather than an event, the hidden dangers of founder dependence, and how utilizing fractional executives and the Entrepreneurial Operating System (EOS) can rapidly increase your company's capacity and value.
Life after the exit: Navigating private equity & post-sale wealth with Benjamin Sinclair.
Benjamin is an Investment Advisor and Associate Portfolio Manager at Design Securities, as well as a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) and Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst (CAIA). Drawing from his background as a former equity research analyst, Benjamin shares his insights into building a modern, diversified advisory practice tailored to business owners.
Transform your founder-dependent business into a high-value enterprise with Franne McNeal.
Are you running your business, or is your business running you? If your company relies heavily on your daily involvement to survive, you own a demanding job, not a transferable asset.
How to sell your business for maximum value with Guylaine Ure.
Are you a business owner planning your ultimate exit strategy? Great exits don’t happen accidentally, they happen through meticulous preparation, clean financials, and a clear understanding of what buyers actually value.
Build a business, buyers pay a premium for. Jay Davis shows you how
Your operations are either building value for a future buyer or quietly destroying it. Jay Davis has spent a career inside some of the world's most demanding manufacturing environments learning exactly which is which - and how to close the gap before it costs you at the table.
If your business cannot run a single day without you, a buyer will pay less for it, or walk away.
David Prowse interviews Joe Graci, CEPA, Managing Director, Ontario at M&A Club Canada, on the most expensive habit in privately held Canadian business: owner dependency. A founder-led company is a riskier asset, and buyers price that risk into the offer. Joe and David cover where dependency hides, how it compresses valuation, and the steps that move a company from founder-led to transferable.
Become a featured guest
Become a featured guest; expert advisor or aquirer in Selling Your Canadian Business: an interview series based on the book Selling Your Canadain Business. Episodes are distributed and promoted jointly to an audience of Canadian business owners generating less than $50M in annual revenue,
David Prowse
Each episode features a one-on-one conversation with a single subject-matter expert from a distinct professional discipline; wealth management, accounting, tax, law, M&A advisory, operations or executive coaching.
Shivani Patel
In each episode, we sit down with a real buyer to hear directly what they look for when acquiring a business like yours. You'll discover what different types of buyers want, how they evaluate companies, and which buyers might be the right fit for your exit.
If this content was useful, the rest of the Selling Your Canadian Business library is one click away in the navigation at the top of this page: a monthly newsletter, audio podcast and video interviews with Canadian advisors. Subscribe now to The Canadian Exit Briefing for exclusive articles, guides and reports written for Canadian business owners and their advisors and pass this article along to another owner who is working through the same questions.
Selling Your Canadian Business
Toronto, Canada
Disclaimer: The information is provided for general informational and educational purposes only. It does not constitute legal, financial, tax, or professional advice. Laws and regulations vary by jurisdiction and change over time. Readers should consult with qualified attorneys, accountants, or advisors tailored to their specific circumstances before making any decisions. The authors assume no liability for actions taken based on this content.
Copyright © 2026 Selling Your Canadian Business — All Rights Reserved.
Published by: the Shaughnessy Group
Disclaimer
The information published by The Shaughnessy Group is provided for general informational and educational purposes only. It does not constitute legal, financial, tax or professional advice. Laws and regulations vary by jurisdiction and change over time. Readers should consult with qualified lawyers, accountants or advisors tailored to their specific circumstances before making any decisions. The Shaughnessy Group and its authors assume no liability for actions taken based on this content.