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The Deal Factory

The Deal Factory

著者： Jeff Harkness
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The Deal Factory, powered by 3PG Advisors, brings practical insights from the front lines of mergers & acquisitions, scaling, and exit strategies in the skilled trades and service industries. Hosted by Jeff Harkness, each episode cuts through the jargon and translates complex deal-making into real-world lessons for business owners. With 30 years of experience helping companies create transformational wealth, Jeff and his guests share stories, strategies, and leadership insights to help you scale smarter, build stronger, and exit bigger. This is your seat at the deal table.Jeff Harkness 経済学
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  • Action Wins: How David Koehn Built, Sold, and Reinvented His Business

    Action Wins: How David Koehn Built, Sold, and Reinvented His Business
    2026/09/30

    What happens when the business you fought to build nearly breaks you and then becomes the vehicle for your next chapter?

    In this episode of The Deal Factory, Jeff Harkness sits down with entrepreneur David Koehn to unpack a journey that started with $12,000 borrowed from his father, a lawnmower, and a Ford Explorer — and ultimately led to building and selling Koehn Outdoors. David shares the mistakes that nearly put the company under, the strategic shift that transformed the business, and why building a team capable of operating without him became one of the most valuable things he ever did.

    David and Jeff also go inside the sale to Bland Landscaping, including why trust mattered more than simply finding the highest bidder, what surprised David during post-close integration, and why owners should expect change after a transaction. Now entering what he calls the “3.0 version” of his life, David is using those lessons to mentor and coach other entrepreneurs navigating growth, leadership, and eventual exits.

    Key Discussion Points

    • Why David left his hometown at 21 with no real plan beyond creating a different life

    • Borrowing $12,000 from his father — and the condition that forced him to go all-in on entrepreneurship

    • Growing from residential lawn care into commercial landscaping and HOA work

    • Why chasing revenue and large installation projects nearly drove the company into bankruptcy

    • The decision to abandon construction work and become intensely focused on recurring maintenance

    • How consultants, better systems, budgeting, and peer relationships helped transform the business

    • Why hiring business development talent earlier could have accelerated David’s growth

    • How stepping away from operations proved David had built a company that could function without him

    • Why David chose a trusted strategic partner instead of running a broad auction for the highest bidder

    • The realities of post-sale integration: systems, safety, compensation, communication, and cultural change

    • Why owners should never believe that “nothing will change” after a transaction

    • How David transitioned from owner-operator to investor, advisor, and CEO coach

    • Why mentors can dramatically change the trajectory of an entrepreneur’s life

    • David’s advice to aspiring entrepreneurs: action wins
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    57 分
  • The Inner Game of Leadership: How Great CEOs Keep Growing

    The Inner Game of Leadership: How Great CEOs Keep Growing
    2026/09/16
    The skills that build a company are not always the skills required to scale one.In this episode of The Deal Factory, Jeff Harkness sits down with his own CEO coach, Chuck Gulledge, for a candid conversation about what happens to a leader as the business grows around them.After beginning his career as a CPA with Arthur Andersen, working in the capital markets, and spending years studying companies and their leaders, Chuck made a major career pivot at age 50 to become a certified executive coach. Thirteen years later, he works with CEOs and leadership teams across the country, helping them navigate strategy, execution, people, succession, and what he calls the “inner game” of leadership.Jeff and Chuck break down the difference between a consultant and a true coach, why CEOs must move beyond the “Superman” phase of entrepreneurship, and how identifying constraints, finding your highest and best use, and building operating systems can transform a growing organization.They also explore Momentum Hub, Chuck’s approach to turning strategy into execution, why AI will enhance leadership without replacing the human side of coaching, and what happens as entrepreneurs evolve from doing everything themselves to multiplying leaders.For founders and CEOs scaling businesses in the trades and service industries, this conversation asks an important question:Are you still the leader your next stage of growth requires?Key Discussion PointsChuck’s journey from CPA and capital markets executive to CEO coachWhy he left his established career at age 50 to pursue coachingThe difference between a CEO coach and a consultantWhy coachability matters more than simply hiring a coachThe loneliness that comes with leading and scaling a companyFinding your highest and best use as a CEOWhy leadership and the “inner game” become more important as companies scaleTurning strategy into execution through Momentum HubWhy strategic plans need to become living operating systemsPeople, strategy, and execution as fundamental building blocksIdentifying and attacking the top constraints inside a businessWhy bad meetings quietly destroy organizational productivity“Where do we play?” versus the more important question: “Where do we not play?”How CEOs unintentionally create cultural problems by tolerating the wrong behaviorsWhy customer experience and winning can strengthen company cultureThe evolution from founder “Superman” to building and multiplying leadersFamily-business succession and why the next generation has to earn leadershipWhy AI can improve business systems but cannot replace human connectionWhy self-doubt does not disappear when a CEO becomes successfulWhy Chuck believes every CEO should have a coachChapters:0:00 Intro0:39 Intro: Meet Chuck Gulledge2:17 How Does Someone Become a CEO Coach?3:40 Arthur Andersen, Capital Markets & Learning Leadership4:40 Discovering Executive Coaching5:40 Making a Major Career Pivot at 507:25 Why Entrepreneurship Can Be Lonely8:40 CEO Coach vs. Consultant10:45 Why Leadership Is the Real Work12:25 Finding Your Highest and Best Use14:50 What Makes a CEO Coachable?17:05 The Inner Game & Building Better Leaders18:30 Momentum Hub: Turning Strategy Into Execution21:30 Will AI Replace CEO Coaches?25:30 The Fundamentals of Scaling Leadership27:40 Finding and Attacking Business Constraints28:45 How Bad Meetings Waste a Company’s Time30:30 Strategy: Where Should You NOT Play?31:55 What Are You Tolerating Inside Your Business?32:35 Culture, Customers & Building a Winning Team35:15 How CEOs Change as Companies Scale36:25 From Superman to Multiplying Leaders38:45 Family Business Succession & Leadership Transitions43:10 When Should a CEO Hire a Coach?44:00 Why Every Leader Needs Coaching45:50 Every CEO Has a Journey47:10 The Inner Game at the Highest Level48:20 The Priority Paradox & CEO Accountability49:00 How to Connect With Chuck49:45 Closing Thoughts
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    51 分
  • From $5M to $100M: Building a Landscaping Platform Through M&A

    From $5M to $100M: Building a Landscaping Platform Through M&A
    2026/08/19

    Crystal Knafel started her landscaping business with a shovel, a wheelbarrow, and a willingness to outwork just about anyone. Today, she and business partner Krista Bontrager are building something much bigger.

    In this episode of The Deal Factory, Jeff Harkness sits down with Crystal and Krista to discuss their evolution from a founder-led operation into a $5M+ multi-location business pursuing growth through acquisitions. They share how their visionary-integrator partnership works, what they learned acquiring Lawn & Turf, and why culture became one of their biggest post-close challenges.

    The conversation covers M&A, integration, leadership, organic growth, technology, talent, and their long-term vision of building a $100M+ landscaping platform.


    Landscaping Services Indiana | Design & Lawn Care Experts | Dynamic Landscaping

    Key Discussion Points

    • Crystal's journey from a shovel and wheelbarrow to business owner
    • How Krista became the integrator to Crystal's visionary
    • Using EOS and mentorship to create structure for growth
    • Why they chose Lawn & Turf as an acquisition target
    • Discovering culture problems after the deal closed
    • Rebuilding the team and integrating the acquisition
    • Moving from pure grit to intentional growth strategy
    • Why alignment is critical in a business partnership
    • Delegating responsibilities as the company scales
    • Building a stronger organic sales engine
    • Using Aspire, Weathermatic and AI in the business
    • Recruiting and retaining the right people
    • Why Crystal wants to build the platform—not sell to one
    • The five-year vision for a $100M+ landscaping company


    Chapters:

    0:00 Intro

    0:26 Meet Crystal and Krista

    2:03 How Crystal Started the Business

    5:29 Krista Joins the Business

    8:43 Visionary vs. Integrator

    10:50 Where the Business Is Today

    13:01 Acquiring Lawn & Turf

    15:48 The Reality of Post-Close Integration

    18:22 Rebuilding Culture & Leadership

    21:00 Women in the Green Industry

    24:00 Learning to Delegate

    28:15 How Their Partnership Works

    31:20 Handling Disagreements & Staying Aligned

    36:50 The Next Critical Hire

    38:12 Technology & Operational Infrastructure

    41:20 Robotics & AI

    43:00 Solving the Labor Challenge

    46:34 Building the Platform

    48:35 Mentors, Belief & Thinking Bigger

    52:18 The $100M Vision

    55:35 Closing Thoughts
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    56 分
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