Should You Hire a COO?
“Casey Cavell owned D-Bat Academy franchises and eventually managed two exits. Casey shares with us the benefits of franchising. He also talks about dealing with burnout when wearing too many hats,” shares Sam Thompson a Minneapolis M&A advisor and the president of Transitions In Business. “He has good insight as to why you should hire a COO.”
Casey Cavell has plenty of party stories: he dropped out of college to become a professional poker player, tried his hand (successfully) at buying self-storage facilities and apartment complexes, and eventually found his way to the business of baseball. More specifically, a franchised baseball academy for 5-10 year olds that he grew to five locations.
Cavell essentially managed two exits from his D-BAT Academy franchises, first selling 66% of the business at a value of $1.5 million and then unloading his remaining equity at a $10 million valuation. On Built to Sell Radio this week, Cavell walks us through the lessons he learned from his successes and failures that led to his eventual exit, including:
- The benefits of franchising and purchasing established facilities
- How to weigh the risks of signing a personal guarantee on a lease
- Identifying and conquering self-limiting beliefs
- How (and why) to hire a COO
- Cavell’s counterintuitive strategy to find and keep top talent
- How to avoid burnout from wearing too many hats
- Finding a balance between Visionaries and Operators
- A recommended psychometric assessment to help you build a winning team
- Redefining your identity post-exit