{"podcast":{"title":"Before You Buy or Sell a Business","slug":"before-you-buy-or-sell-a-business-5819525","podcast_index_feed_id":5819525,"rss_url":"https://feeds.captivate.fm/before-you-buy-or-sell/","website_url":"https://jaredwjohnson.com","image_url":"https://artwork.captivate.fm/7ad7b883-57f4-40ca-89a1-31c6f0b05f6e/tjT5gAbth3Kmx8GzDayPgcL8.png","author":"Jared W. Johnson","episode_count":68,"summary":"Learn everything you need to know about buying and selling a business from High-Performing SBA Lender, Jared Johnson, who specializes in business acquisitions. Jared interviews industry experts on both the buying and selling side to provide insights into the buying and selling process. Experts include brokers, attorneys, escrow officers, and seekers. You'll also hear from actual buyers and sellers about their experiences before and after the process. If you're a buyer or a seller or thinking about becoming one at some point in the future, this is the podcast that will provide you with the information you need for a successful transaction.","last_synced_at":"2026-07-28T22:20:19.103669+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/before-you-buy-or-sell-a-business-5819525"},"episode":{"title":"When Acquisitions Go Wrong: Christine McDannell on a Failed Deal, Hidden Costs, Working Capital Risk, and the Reality Behind “Easy” ETA","slug":"when-acquisitions-go-wrong-christine-mcdannell-on-a-failed-deal-hidden-costs-working-capital-risk-and-the-reality-behind-easy-eta","published_at":"2026-02-24T11:00:00+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/before-you-buy-or-sell-a-business-5819525/when-acquisitions-go-wrong-christine-mcdannell-on-a-failed-deal-hidden-costs-working-capital-risk-and-the-reality-behind-easy-eta","show_page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/before-you-buy-or-sell-a-business-5819525","url":"https://jaredwjohnson.com","audio_url":"https://episodes.captivate.fm/episode/3d26384b-3060-4519-8199-f063817807a7.mp3","summary":"Jared Johnson sits down with M&A advisor and serial entrepreneur Christine McDannell, founder of The Magnolia Firm, to unpack a deal that did not go as planned. Christine shares how an acquisition of a dance and fitness studio moved from seemingly profitable to cash-flow negative once she took over operations. They walk through what she missed because of speed, compressed diligence, and incomplete financial visibility, including licensing costs, seasonal revenue swings, and marketing spend that lived outside the books. Christine explains why raising pay and funding upgrades early created unintended expectations, how customer and operational pressures compounded the situation, and why working capital is the difference between surviving a rough stretch and being forced to shut the doors. The conversation challenges the idea that buying businesses is easy and highlights how even experienced operators can misstep when timelines are rushed and the full expense picture is not visible. Main Takeaways: Speed compresses diligence and increases the odds of missing material risks A business that looks profitable can become unprofitable quickly once all true expenses hit the buyer’s books Working capital determines whether a downturn becomes temporary or fatal Marketing spend and other costs can be obscured when accounts sit outside the primary P&L Immediate raises and visible capital improvements can create entitlement and escalating demands Seasonality can materially impact revenue and must be stress tested before closing Customer service businesses carry emotional and operational volatility that buyers often underestimate Not every concept is best acquired; some are better built from scratch with rent and unit economics designed correctly Transparency about failures hel…","meta_description":"Jared Johnson sits down with M&A advisor and serial entrepreneur Christine McDannell, founder of The Magnolia Firm, to unpack a deal that did not go a…","key_points":[],"chapters":[],"topics":[],"duration_seconds":2870,"processing_state":"not_requested","actions":[{"name":"request_transcript","method":"POST","url":"https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/before-you-buy-or-sell-a-business-5819525/episodes/when-acquisitions-go-wrong-christine-mcdannell-on-a-failed-deal-hidden-costs-working-capital-risk-and-the-reality-behind-easy-eta/transcription-requests","description":"Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode."},{"name":"read_markdown","method":"GET","url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/before-you-buy-or-sell-a-business-5819525/when-acquisitions-go-wrong-christine-mcdannell-on-a-failed-deal-hidden-costs-working-capital-risk-and-the-reality-behind-easy-eta.md","description":"Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource."}]}}