#425: Unlocking Business Value: Practical Tools for Growth and Ownership Goals with Ken Sanginario & John Lawlor

As a business owner, you’ve likely heard terms like EBITDA, working capital, and Weighted Average Cost of Capital (WACC)—but do they feel relevant to your day-to-day decisions? In this episode, I sit down with Ken Sanginario and John Lawlor to demystify these concepts and show how they directly impact your ability to grow, scale, and transition your business. 

Watch on YouTube

We’ll explore how to measure and grow your business’s value using actionable tools, like Ken’s Value Opportunity Profile (VOP), that connect financial performance to your ownership goals. Whether you’re thinking about selling in the next few years, stepping back from day-to-day operations, or just getting a clearer picture of your business, this conversation will help you build a roadmap for sustainable growth.  

This episode is packed with practical advice and relatable insights that will bridge the gap between high-level financial concepts and the operational realities you face as an owner-operator. Let’s make the numbers work for you, not the other way around. 

What You’ll Learn in This Episode: 

• Why valuation is more than just a multiple of EBITDA—and how it reflects how well your business operates without you. 

• The connection between operational efficiency, financial metrics, and long-term business value. 

• How the Value Opportunity Profile helps you identify areas to improve your business. 

• What buyers look for in a business—and how to position yours for maximum value. 

• How to connect financial metrics to your personal ownership goals, whether it’s scaling, selling, or stepping back.

Ken Sanginario is the founder of Corporate Value Metrics and the creator of the Value Opportunity Profile (VOP), a system designed to assess and enhance the eight functional areas of a business. With over 30 years of experience as a CPA, business advisor, and valuation expert, Ken has worked with countless owner-operators to help them unlock sustainable growth, increase equity value, and achieve their ownership goals. His practical, results-driven approach ties financial fundamentals to strategic decision-making, making him a trusted partner for business owners looking to maximize their independence.

John Lawlor is a seasoned business advisor, leadership coach, and expert in organizational development. With over two decades of experience helping businesses scale effectively, John specializes in aligning leadership, culture, and operations to create high-performing organizations. A key collaborator in the development and application of the VOP, John brings a deep understanding of how behavior and strategic planning drive business success. His focus on fostering communication and engagement across all levels of a company has made him a sought-after resource for owner-operators aiming to build businesses that work without them.

Chapters:  

• (00:00) Introduction of guests John and Ken: Why understanding your business’s value matters for owner-operators 

• (06:00) Intro to guests, John's background and his focus on helping businesses improve, how John and Ken began working together 

• (10:00) Ryan's journey of understanding weighted average cost of capital and return on eq