Terrific unique book for business leaders, CEOs, President, owners and executive teams interested in building a lasting business of value - one that others will value also and potentially acquire. The author shares experiences (good and not so good outcomes) building, selling and buying business and includes best practices from a variety management blueprints and operating systems for business leaders to use to increase their businesses value. I will recommend this book to those I work with as well as reference chapters and exercises for continued business growth.

he book was well written, interesting and was clearly written by an expert in the field. It is always interesting to get the details behind the deals, what works and what brings a deal to fail. No two buyers or sellers are alike and the anecdotes made the book that much more flavorful. It was also valuable to learn more about international and cross-border deals, areas in which I lack knowledge. As someone who is intimately familiar with the subject matter, I did have one point that I feel needs more substantiation. The insinuation that only one in 12 businesses is really sellable, does not fit with what I see every day. I am not sure I would support the Statista findings - does this data capture all sales including mergers, employee buyouts, kids buying out their parents, etc.?

Steve Preda takes his decades of experience, research and statistical data to walk the reader through not only the lift of building a "Buyable" business, but also the pit falls and opportunities that can arise along the way. Many books in the business management world - commit to a "one size fits all" or this is the newest fad and try to debunk or only pitch ONE way to do things. Without focusing on only one management style, Preda highlights the main concepts/theories that have been adopted and adapted over the past century and gives them all equal and fair consideration. Then highlights specific examples from his M&A background or business coaching experience. At times it can get a bit technical and distracting with some of the stories but overall his direct interaction from both his European and American negotiations play into his explanation of how to layout the plan of starting, building and orchestrating a Buyable Business.

I previously built a business where I was trapped in the business, missed a $500k acquisition offer, and I made all the mistakes the author identified in the book. I burned it to the ground, and starting over from scratch in a different sector, but I became obsessed with knowing how to do it right this time, and this is probably the best book on the subject I have read a number of them, however with this one, it is like the author is aware that the person he is talking to is out of his depth, so he really makes it so easy to understand as if he was talking a young child, making it really easy to grasp instead of using industry jargons. The examples and stories in the book are so practical and feel familiar, that you leave each chapter knowing much more than before. Highly recommend it to anyone who is looking to build a successful, Buyable business.