Build and Exit

As a chartered management accountant by trade, I uncovered my true potential at 37, moving from a well-paid corporate job to building my own accounting and consultancy firm. Having worked on 5-10 acquisitions or business exits each month for clients, I understand the key challenges business owners face, including getting the real value they want for their business, whilst having the right controls and processes in place so the business can run independently of the owners.The Build and Exit podcast will include conversations, stories and real-life examples of day-to-day challenges business owners face, different methods of growth including acquisitions and top tips on how owners can transition from working in their business to working on it, enabling them to maximize their value on exit. I will also include episodes where I share my own learnings on business management and how Wilkinson Accounting Solutions are planning to continue to grow by acquisition.

Build and Exit is a business podcast hosted by Julie Wilkinson, with 70 episodes on record and a Required Pod Score of 80. PitchCentric scores this show on Booking Probability, Listen Score, and live audience signals refreshed every 24 hours.

Julie Wilkinson hosts Build and Exit, a business show with 70 episodes published.

Our AI reads these to draft pitches. Use them as grounding for a pitch that cites a real guest and a specific topic.

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  Episode #68

  Selling My Business Felt Like a Divorce. Here Is What Nobody Tells You. | Build and Exit Podcast

  Aug 6, 202629 min

  Most conversations about selling a business focus on the deal. This one focuses on what it actually feels like. Luke Winter co-founded Wallbreaker, a video agency, straight out of university. After 12 years he sold his half to his business partner. In this episode he talks honestly about the loneliness, the exhaustion, the night in the shower, and the question every seller faces: am I walking away with enough? Watch the full video version on YouTube: https://youtu.be/zl2MuhC8ufo

  ListenShow Notes
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  Episode #67

  £3 Million Saved Through Outsourcing: The Strategy Most Businesses Overlook | Build and Exit Podcast

  Jul 31, 202635 min

  Nine out of ten businesses that come to market within a year have not sold. Marc Adams has spent four decades on both sides of that statistic. In this episode he joins Julie to break down the three-step framework behind his book: cutting costs through outsourcing, deploying that saving into growth, and using acquisitions to double a business in an afternoon. Including a real client whose valuation moved from £5 million to £24 million. Watch the full video version on YouTube: https://youtu.be/ZALeAgUlHzY

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  Episode #65

  What Is Adjusted EBITDA and Why It Could Make or Break Your Business Sale | Build and Exit Podcast

  Jul 15, 202626 min

  Most business owners go to market expecting a strong valuation and are disappointed. Not because the business is bad. Because the profits they think they have are not the profits a buyer will accept. In this episode Julie Wilkinson breaks down adjusted EBITDA from the ground up, including the accruals concept, how owner pay distorts profits, the pricing flaw hiding in most SME businesses, and why the buyer's first concern is always whether the margin covers replacing you. Watch the full video version on YouTube: https://youtu.be/dlemWCxHAbc

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  Episode #64

  Most Businesses Don't Fail Overnight. They Lose Oversight First. | Build & Exit Podcast

  Jul 1, 202617 min

  Most businesses do not fail overnight. They lose oversight first. In this episode Julie walks through how financial and legal risk quietly builds inside growing businesses, including a real case where credit card spend crept to half a million a year unnoticed, an acquisition that inherited a money laundering exposure, and an internal fraud case that went undetected for years. If your business is growing but somehow needs more of you in it, this is the episode to listen to. Watch the full video version on YouTube: https://youtu.be/FFbEKZIhdSU?si=yyBcHwjc-8HqM9iH

  ListenShow Notes
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  Episode #63

  The Operational Risks That Silently Destroy Business Valuations | Build & Exit Podcast

  Jun 24, 202621 min

  Most business owners believe their valuation is driven by revenue and profit. Buyers are looking for something else entirely: confidence. Confidence in the numbers. Confidence in the controls. Confidence that the business is actually as sustainable as it appears on the surface. In this solo episode Julie Wilkinson walks through a real case study: a business with £20 million turnover that had been offered a 7x multiple by a PE firm. By the time due diligence was complete, the valuation had been slashed and the exit delayed by five years. Not because the business was fraudulent. Not because it suddenly stopped trading. Because of three things that are almost invisible until an outsider starts asking questions: reporting the buyer couldn't trust, a major client leaving mid-process, and a concentration risk that revealed 75% of clients came from a single channel. Julie also covers what businesses can put in place now — systems assessment, trading reports versus financial reports, and a controls framework — so that when questions come, they already have the answers. Only 10 to 15% of businesses have a contingency risk plan. This episode explains why that number needs to change, and what it costs when it doesn't.

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