Gordon Bell is the Founder and CEO of The Midland Group, a business advisory firm based in Fort Wayne, Indiana. Founded in 1991, The Midland Group has advised clients – both national and international with revenues ranging from $10 million to $5 billion – across a range of industries: manufacturing, distribution, service, and retail. The Midland Group, along with its strategic alliance partners, offers advisory services in Leadership Development, Succession Contingency Planning, Sales and Marketing, Business Development, Operational Excellence, Corporate Development, Mergers and Acquisition, Development of Multiple Exit Options, and Sell Side Preparedness / Sell Side Processes.
Gordon has identified a holistic approach to help his clients build their business and prepare to exit gracefully. Midland’s Advanced Value Enhancement Solutions is a program that guides clients in building, growing, and finishing strong. This forward-thinking approach has advised numerous business owners and corporate leaders to maximize their shareholder value at an accelerated rate; minimize business risk; and achieve personal, financial, and business goals.
Whether it is a young business looking for growth, or established companies looking toward the future. Gordon starts by asking his clients three questions: What’s your Vision? Your mission? Where are you in your journey? His approach is unique because of its accelerated focus, using 90-day plans to address both immediate and future goals, as well as proven successful development of strong leadership teams, both internally or by recruitment.
Seth welcomes Gordon to the podcast to discuss his journey to become CEO of the Midland Group. Having a passion for serving others from a young age, he talks about his experience owning an import/export business and doing corporate development work. That experience lead to the various consulting services he now provides to business owners, including exit planning, leadership development, and succession planning.
“Just build your best team. You build your best team, and they’re a part of taking the risk with you, you’re going to have a better plan. If you do that, then you’re gonna have predictable financials.” – Gordon Bell
This week on The Owner’s Corner:
- Leadership, entrepreneurship, and consulting experiences.
- Exit strategies for business owners with a focus on preparation and communication.
- Business planning and strategy.
- Leadership, collaboration, and succession planning in business.
- Exit planning for businesses and families.
- Business valuation and sale strategies.
- Business transactions, legal advice, and exit planning.
- Financial planning and exit strategies for business owners.
Our Favorite Quotes:
“It’s the due diligence that you’re collecting, whether you’re on the buy side, or the sell side. How can you use that information to have a successful close? No, a successful first 90 days. How do you use that information? Because most transactions fail a year from now.” – Gordon Bell
“Once you’ve discovered what’s inside the soul, you discover what their journey is going to be.” – Seth Whicker
“What’s that mission that you’ve got? Where are you in the journey to accomplish that? And if I can understand and capture that, then I go through a seven step process. But if I jump to the process, I haven’t captured their dreams, their heart aches, hurts. Because that’s what you’re trying to get at.” – Gordon Bell
Are you a business owner?
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Connect with Gordon Bell:
Email: gbell@themidlandgroup.net
Website: https://www.themidlandgroup.net
About SYM Financial and The Owner’s Corner Podcast
The Owner’s Corner is a show for business owners. In each episode, host and financial planner Seth Whicker sits down with business owners and the professionals that serve them to talk about what it takes to build a business. Our guests come from many industries and walks of life to share their biggest wins, mistakes made along the way, and their thinking about the all-important exit planning. Click here for more episodes and insight.
Email Seth at swhicker@sym.com with questions, comments, and to schedule a one-on-one conversation.
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Disclosure: Certain links above are to third-party sites and are not affiliated with SYM Financial Corporation (“SYM”). SYM is an independent investment adviser registered under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, as amended. Registration does not imply a certain level of skill or training. More information about SYM including our investment strategies, fees and objectives can be found in our ADV Part 2, which is available upon request.
