John Martinka: The Exit Artist - Creating big Exits for Small Businesses

What does it take to exit your business with style, grace, and more money? In this episode of The Empowered Team Podcast, Kari Schneider sits down with business transition expert John Martinka, known as “The Escape Artist,” to explore the world of small business exits, mergers, and acquisitions.

With over 30 years in the buy-sell space, John shares what most business owners get wrong when trying to sell, how to dramatically increase the value of a company before an exit, and why your business might be “too dependent on you” to ever sell well.

We dive into:

• Why 70% of business owners want to exit… but few actually do
• The single biggest mistake that will slash your business’s value
• How to prepare your company for sale years in advance
• Why AI will never replace relationship-based roles like John’s
• The myth of the “special snowflake” business
• Real talk on Gen Z, job markets, and legacy

John also opens up about his personal philosophy for success (spoiler: it involves being “aggressive, shameless, faster and edgy”) and the life-changing work he leads in Antigua & Barbuda.

🔗 Mention this podcast to get a free e-copy of John’s book: Exit with Style, Grace, and More Money

This is a must-listen for founders, CEOs, and leaders who care about optimizing their life’s work — not just running a business, but building a legacy.

🤔 Want to know more about John? Check him out here: https://www.martinkaconsulting.com/

💬 Start a conversation with Kari’s AI → https://www.delphi.ai/karischneider

👉 Ready to go deeper? Join the Empowered Team and take your leadership to the next level: https://theempowered.ca/team-learn-more

👉 Want to use AI to amplify your leadership? Grab our free guide “The 50 Best AI Prompts for Executives” → https://thehumanalgorithm.ai/free-ai-guide