(Pictured L-R) Kate Roth of Murphy Business Sales and David Vudragovich of AgentDavidCares.com
Pikeville, Tennessee – September 1, 2026 – Every business owner eventually faces the same question: what makes a company worth buying? According to Kate Roth, a mergers and acquisitions broker with Murphy Business Sales, and David Vudragovich, a licensed independent group benefits advisor with AgentDavidCares.com, the answer has less to do with the closing table and more to do with decisions made years earlier.
Kate Roth and David Vudragovich have partnered on a new joint article examining how business sale valuation, employee benefits, and exit planning intersect, an angle most business owners overlook until it is too late to act on it.
Most owners think about selling a business the way they think about retirement, someday, not yet. But the decisions made two, three, and five years before a sale determine the outcome far more than anything negotiated at closing.
Buyers evaluating a company are looking at risk. Can the management team operate independently of the owner? Are customers loyal to the business itself, or only to the person who built it? A business that depends entirely on its owner is a harder sell, and typically commands a lower price, than one with systems and people in place to run without him or her.
Timing matters as much as preparation. “We often tell owners that the best time to start preparing for a sale is three to five years before they want to exit,” says Kate Roth. That runway gives an owner enough time to address the operational weaknesses a buyer will eventually find anyway, on their own terms rather than under deal pressure.
One of the most overlooked levers in that preparation window is the benefits package itself. Group health insurance is one of the largest controllable expenses on a typical business profit and loss statement, yet it is rarely reviewed with a sale in mind. Research from Harvard University found that a one dollar per hour increase in employee take-home pay produces a 2.8 percent increase in retention, a factor buyers weigh heavily when evaluating whether a workforce will stay intact after a sale.
“Reducing unnecessary benefit costs while maintaining or improving employee coverage helps the business in multiple ways,” says David Vudragovich. It strengthens the bottom line buyers are evaluating, and it protects the retention of the employees a buyer is ultimately paying to keep.
The moment of acquisition itself creates a window most business owners never think to use. When a business changes hands, the transition creates a natural opportunity to restructure benefits entirely, often with new leverage and new options that were not available under the previous ownership. A buyer who improves benefits immediately after taking over signals to the newly acquired workforce that their wellbeing matters under new leadership. That is not treated as an added expense. It functions as a direct investment in the value the buyer just purchased.
For business owners who are even beginning to consider a future sale, both Kate Roth and David Vudragovich recommend starting the benefits and operational review early, well before a buyer is at the table. More information is available at AgentDavidCares.com and MurphyBusinessofCape.com.
About The Company Being Featured
AgentDavidCares.com and Murphy Business Sales are independent advisory practices that partner to help business owners prepare for the future, whether they intend to grow, sell, or exit. David Vudragovich of AgentDavidCares.com works with employers of 10 or more employees nationwide, building tailored group benefits strategies across multiple carriers rather than representing a single company. David Vudragovich’s approach follows a simple philosophy, simply stated as, “We do not invent new products. We structure existing ones better.” Kate Roth of Murphy Business Sales has spent the past 10 years helping business owners navigate mergers, acquisitions, and successful exits, guiding them through the operational and financial preparation needed to maximize value at sale.
For more information, please visit:
David Vudragovich LinkedIn
Kate Roth LinkedIn
“This article was developed with AI assistance and reflects the experience, voice, and opinions of David Vudragovich and Kate Roth.”
Media ContactCompany Name: AgentDavidCares.comContact Person: David VudragovichEmail: Send EmailPhone: 8658065837Address:PO Box 61 Pikeville, TN, 37367City: PikevilleState: Tennessee, 37367Country: United StatesWebsite: https://agentdavidcares.com/
