Do you own a transportation or 3PL business doing $3M or more in revenue? Visit www.bizexitgrow.com to find out how we can help you grow, scale, and exit at maximum value.
Most sellers leave value on the table because they wait until the last minute. In this episode, we break down how to turn around struggling operations, what private equity really looks for, and how to start preparing two to three years before you sell, with Wayne Marhelski, private equity operating executive, US Air Force veteran, and three-decade operations leader with four portfolio company turnarounds.
Wayne specializes in turning operational complexity into real EBITDA using principles from the Toyota Production System.
We cover:
– Why principles beat playbooks when conditions change.
– What a 20-minute factory floor walk reveals that no slide deck can.
– What to look at first in a turnaround, starting with the financial statement.
– Why material costs, not labor, are often the biggest lever in manufacturing.
– Why tribal knowledge is not a process, and what to build instead.
– How to prepare for a sale two to three years out to protect your multiple.
– What great talent looks like in a high-pressure turnaround.
– How Wayne uses AI and Notebook LM, plus why markdown beats PDFs.
– Wayne’s tip: take a walk and view your business like a third party.
Connect with Wayne on LinkedIn (www.linkedin.com/in/waynemarhelski) and on Substack at The Operational Edge (https://theoperationaledge.substack.com/).
Ready to grow and plan your exit? Visit www.BizExitGrow.com.
Related episodes:
– Ep. 78: Why Most Tech Projects Fail (And How to Fix It) with Jeffrey Lambert
– Ep. 77: How to Stop Being the Bottleneck in Your Business with Brooke Dukes
00:00 Intro: Meet Wayne Marhelski, PE operating executive
00:59 From the Air Force to Toyota and operations leadership
03:27 The principles he still applies on every factory floor
05:20 What he looks at in the first 30 days of a turnaround
08:04 What makes an acquisition integration succeed or fail
10:37 How to prepare your business for a PE sale
15:29 What great talent looks like in a turnaround
18:54 The turnaround that cut headcount and grew revenue 36%
22:15 How Wayne uses AI, Notebook LM, and markdown documents
29:06 Wayne’s tip: take a walk and see your business fresh
#BusinessTurnaround #PrivateEquity #EBITDA #Operations #SupplyChain #Manufacturing #LeanManufacturing #ToyotaProductionSystem #ExitPlanning #BusinessValuation #ScaleSmarter #SellStronger #ExitAlgorithms #BusinessGrowth #AIforBusiness
