Do the Pro Forma Before You Spend | Austin Johnson

A good recipe is not a business plan. Austin Johnson, founder of The Springs Bagel Company, built the company in Colorado Springs, sold it, and says the pro forma is what tells an owner whether they are getting into the right thing.

In Episode 73, Chris Seegers and Austin talk through the lessons after the sale. They cover gatekeeping the work only the owner still does, why a wholesale-only model became a trap, what it takes to let go of a business you built, and why the market sets the number. They also get into personal leadership, building with less than $40,000 of debt, and the books Austin listened to while he handled every bagel.

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ABOUT AUSTIN JOHNSON

Austin Johnson is the founder of The Springs Bagel Company in Colorado Springs. He started the company in 2022, built it, and later sold it. Chris and his team were part of that sale.

The Springs Bagel Company:

https://www.thespringsbagel.com/about

CHAPTERS

0:00 Do the pro forma first

0:29 Exceptional Companies Podcast intro

0:48 Meet Austin Johnson

1:59 How The Springs Bagel Company started

4:01 Stop gatekeeping the work

6:51 When the owner is the business

7:20 Sequence the work

9:23 Wholesale only was a bad idea

10:33 Personal goals, business goals, and wealth

11:59 Stories from the bagel company

13:08 Take care of the person in front of you

16:30 Ask why before you fire

18:12 Enterprise value and the long plan

19:01 Built with less than $40,000 of debt

19:51 The storefront decision

21:46 Your identity is more than the company

24:09 Letting go after the sale

26:54 A valuation is not a feeling

28:36 The market sets the number

29:57 Questions for a founder

31:00 Do the pro forma before you spend

33:21 Books that shaped the journey

35:06 Where to find Austin

35:30 Exceptional Companies Podcast outro

DISCLAIMER

This conversation is for educational and informational purposes only. It is not financial, investment, legal, tax, or business advice. Debt levels, valuations, and sale outcomes vary. The figures in this episode are Austin's account of his own company, not a forecast for another business.

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