David C. Barnett is an international speaker, author, consultant, and recognized authority on the buying, selling, financing, valuation, and management of small and medium-sized businesses.
With more than 25 years of experience working with entrepreneurs, Barnett has built a career at the intersection of small business ownership, finance, business transactions, valuation, and education. Through Advantage Liquidity Partners Ltd. and his earlier work in commercial finance and business brokerage, he has worked on more than 1,000 small-business valuation and transaction files and completed more than 650 machinery and equipment appraisal assignments.
That experience gives Barnett an unusually broad perspective on small-business deals. He has seen transactions from the viewpoints of buyers, sellers, lenders, brokers, appraisers, advisors, and business owners themselves.
A graduate of the Williams School of Business and Economics at Bishop’s University and UNBSJ’s Electronic Commerce Management Program, Barnett began his career with the Yellow Pages, spending seven years working directly with small-business owners. The experience gave him an early education in the realities of entrepreneurship and the challenges faced by owner-managed companies.
In 2005, Barnett left the publishing industry to launch a small business with a partner. The venture grew quickly and was subsequently sold. During this period, he also built a portfolio of income properties and began developing the practical deal-making experience that would shape his later career.
In 2006, Barnett founded Advantage Liquidity Partners Ltd., initially arranging commercial financing for small and medium-sized businesses. His work included business loans, commercial mortgages, equipment financing, factoring facilities, and other debt solutions for hundreds of companies.
Financing business acquisitions naturally led Barnett into business brokerage. He joined Sunbelt Business Brokers in 2008 and subsequently acquired its Moncton office. During his brokerage career, he facilitated more than 35 business buy-and-sell transactions in Atlantic Canada and earned the Certified Business Intermediary designation.
Barnett also earned the Certified Machinery & Equipment Appraiser (CMEA) designation from the NEBB Institute. His appraisal work has been used by banks, credit unions, business owners, buyers and sellers, accountants, lawyers, government organizations, and other professional advisors. His experience covers hundreds of different types of machinery, equipment, vehicles, and business assets across a wide variety of industries.
Barnett’s valuation expertise has also been recognized by the Court of King’s Bench of New Brunswick, where he has been accepted as an expert in business asset valuation.
After leaving business brokerage, Barnett managed American Express Bank of Canada’s corporate mid-market credit programs in Atlantic Canada before returning to full-time consulting, valuation, education, and advisory work.
Today, he works directly with entrepreneurs throughout Canada, the United States, and internationally. His work focuses particularly on helping people evaluate business acquisitions, understand business value, structure transactions, prepare businesses for sale, and avoid the financial and personal consequences of poorly conceived deals.
Author and Educator
Barnett is the author or co-author of eleven books covering business acquisitions, business sales, valuation, entrepreneurship, financing, risk, and small-business management.
His titles include Invest Local, How to Sell My Own Business, Franchise Warnings, Smarter Than a Startup, 21 Stupid Things People Do When Trying to Buy a Business, The Business Fortress, and others.
His newest book, Business and Asset Values: How Owners, Buyers, Sellers, Lenders, and Advisors Should Think About Small Business & Equipment Value, brings together decades of experience in commercial finance, business brokerage, small-business transactions, and machinery and equipment appraisal.
The book explores an idea central to Barnett’s work: a valuation is useful only when it makes sense for the decision being made. Rather than treating valuation as simply producing a number, the book examines value from the perspectives of owners, buyers, sellers, lenders, and professional advisors and explains why purpose, assumptions, risk, financing, deal structure, and market conditions all influence what something is worth.
Barnett is also the creator of the Business Buyer Advantage training and coaching programs, which teach prospective entrepreneurs how to search for, analyze, finance, negotiate, and conduct due diligence on small-business acquisitions.
His YouTube channel and Small Business and Deal Making Podcast have attracted an international following through hundreds of videos and interviews addressing business acquisitions, business sales, financing, valuation, entrepreneurship, and the practical realities of small-business ownership.
Speaker and Workshop Leader
Barnett is also an experienced keynote speaker, workshop facilitator, and professional trainer.
Since 2012, he has delivered presentations and workshops for entrepreneurs, lenders, economic-development organizations, franchise systems, professional advisors, industry associations, conferences, and other organizations in Canada, the United States, and internationally.
His presentations focus on subjects including buying and selling businesses, business valuation, financing acquisitions, avoiding bad deals, preparing companies for sale, understanding business assets, deal structure, and small-business management.
Whether speaking to entrepreneurs considering their first acquisition, business owners preparing for an eventual exit, or bankers and professional advisors who work with small businesses, Barnett’s approach is practical and case-driven. He uses stories and examples drawn from decades of real-world transaction, consulting, finance, and appraisal experience to make complicated ideas understandable and useful.
His objective across his consulting, writing, videos, and speaking is consistent:
Help people make better decisions about small businesses—and avoid bad deals.
For media appearances, speaking engagements, consulting, or other business inquiries, contact info@alpatlantic.com or call 1-833-935-2688.
