The earn-out model has been the gold standard for the 20+ years that I have been doing mergers and acquisitions. It is a proven, fair model used by all major PR firm buyers from holding company firm buyers to mid-size firm buyers to bolt-on firm buyers. The appeal and benefit of the earn-out model is…
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Category: Build to Sell
5 Questions to Ask When Considering Selling Your PR Firm
If you have decided that it’s time to take that first step in your planned exit strategy of selling the firm, you may have questions regarding what your next steps should be. The next steps you should think through as you move to sell your public relations agency are: 1. Do you know your true…
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Bigger is Better – But Not “Too Big”
We have been consistently advising PR Agencies to grow their top line for maximizing value, as long as they maintain bottom line consistency, targeting 20+ percent. But there is a footnote to this advice. Being “too big” may actually decrease the payback. The sweet spot for PR firms has been the $10-$25 million net revenue…
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Canadian PR Firms Best U.S. Firms on Revenue, Profitability
Canada is celebrated for many things. Maple Syrup, Niagara Falls, and Wayne Gretzky quickly come to mind. Now you can add profitable PR agencies to the list, particularly when stacked up against their U.S counterparts. Net revenue for Canadian-based firms grew a total of 21.8 percent in 2016, according to Gould+Partners 2017 PR Firm Net…
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VIDEO: The ‘Build to Sell’ Mindset
Clients are satisfied with your firm’s work. You’re on the short list to land a new (and prestigious) account. The staff is growing nicely. They’re all positive indices for creative services firm owners. But, in order to maximize the profitability and overall value of their firm, owners need to adopt a ‘Build to Sell‘ mentality….
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Gould Featured in ‘Future of PR’ Video
We continue to push online video content as a major priority for PR firms looking to grow their profitability and expand their clientele. When you consider the growing impact of online video content it’s little wonder that visual communications is starting to command both more budget and creative thinking among PR shops. Online video content,…
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Valuing Your PR Firm ‘As If’ It Were Your Home
Your home has been good to you. You have invested a chunk of money into sprucing it up throughout the years and the work has paid off nicely. You are ready to sell. As you brace for a sale you remember that tiny crack in the wall near your bedroom and some chips scattering the…
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Making Sense of Your Balance Sheet
For many PR firm owners and C-suite executives it’s often considered the management equivalent of getting root canal: Reading their balance sheet. While a growing number of PR firm owners have gotten more comfortable with reading their balance sheet, there’s still a lot to be desired in terms of owners having a solid grasp for…
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G+P Part-Time CFO Division Looks to Fill Void in PR
The positive reaction in the marketplace to our new Part Time CFO division has exceeded our expectations—and it’s little wonder. Gould+Partners launched the division because we see a huge void in the marketplace among PR firm owners to hire a CFO and get a better grip on their financial operations. Checklist for CFO Effectiveness and…
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The Dramatically Changing PR Economy
The financial onus on PR agency owners is growing like a weed. In an increasingly post-digital age, PR agency owners and C-suite executives face a dramatically changing business environment. These days the biggest challenges for agency owners and C-suite execs include whether to “build or buy,” and how to reinforce their firms financially. Those were…
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The Plague of Overservicing
Most business sectors suffer from overservicing—or working for nothing—but probably not nearly as bad as the public relations profession. Overservicing is a chronic PR problem, of course, and cost the industry precious revenue. Despite their best intentions PR firms of all sizes fail to push back when clients or prospects try to squeeze more work…
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Benchmarking Report Shows Firm Profitability Declining
We’ve just released our latest industry benchmarking study, and the overall results aren’t very pretty. Most troubling: The industry’s overall profitability keeps falling, down to 15.3 percent in 2015, compared with 16.2 percent in 2014 and 15.8 percent in 2013. It was 18.8 percent in 2012. The results are based on 106 firms reporting their…
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