Ep73: Megan Gluth: Why You Should Always Run Your Business Like You’ll Sell It Tomorrow

Your Business – Your Next Level

In this powerful second appearance on Your Business Your Next Level, I reconnect with Megan Gluth, award-winning CEO and entrepreneur, to explore her incredible journey of scaling a business through mergers and acquisitions—starting with a bold, intuitive decision to buy the company she once served as general counsel. Megan walks us through the emotional and strategic complexity of acquiring a $48M company, the importance of trust and alignment with sellers, and the reality of navigating leadership transitions—especially during a global pandemic.

She shares candid insights from her subsequent acquisitions, revealing how each deal was different and what she’s learned about strategic fit, valuation, earnouts, and post-acquisition integration. Megan emphasizes why running your business like you’ll sell it tomorrow is a mindset every business owner should adopt—regardless of timeline—and why support, objectivity, and honesty are essential throughout the M&A process. This episode is a must-listen for any entrepreneur thinking about buying, selling, or scaling through acquisition.

Key Takeaways:

Lead with Intuition, Follow with Strategy: Megan’s first acquisition wasn’t planned—but she trusted her gut, asked the question, and followed through with smart, aligned execution.

No Two Deals Are the Same: Each acquisition brings unique dynamics, especially when the seller is emotionally tied to the business. Cookie-cutter strategies don’t work in real-world M&A.

Support is Critical: Whether it’s a therapist, a business coach, or an objective advisor, having someone in your corner without a financial stake in the deal is invaluable.

Earnouts and Relationships Go Hand in Hand: Structuring deals with earnouts encourages collaborative transitions—and honest conversations about value, leadership, and fit.

Always Run Your Business Like You Might Sell It Tomorrow: Megan shares how she makes decisions—from staffing to long-term contracts—with a potential exit always in mind.

Timeline Summary:

[00:00] - Megan returns: The unexpected story behind acquiring a $48M company

[04:00] - Navigating succession and ownership transition with trust and intuition

[06:00] - Emotional readiness: The overlooked element in buying or selling a business

[09:00] - Structuring a deal through earnouts, seller financing, and mutual respect

[10:00] - COVID hits—Megan takes full ownership and steps fully into leadership

[13:00] - The mindset shift: “Now it’s all on me” and how she coped with it

[15:00] - Lessons from subsequent acquisitions and why no two deals are alike

[18:00] - Avoiding overvalued COVID-era deals and how her next acquisitions found her

[21:00] - Honest conversations make or break acquisitions—skip the gloss

[25:00] - Always be exit-ready: How Megan leads today with tomorrow’s valuation in mind

[29:00] - Why every entrepreneur should think like a seller—even if you’re not ready to exit

[31:00] - One lesson learned: Find a truly objective advisor who has no stake in the outcome

Links & Resources:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/megan-gluth/