Five Offers and a Team in Good Hands: Brooke’s Story with Baton
Rachel Horner
⋅
6 min read
Inspired by Baton’s owner success stories, here’s how Brooke Backsen went from 14 years of building My Recess Therapy to five letters of intent (LOIs), a sale to a local therapy operator, and a move closer to family.
About the Business
Industry: Healthcare / Pediatric Occupational and Speech Therapy
Location: Midwest
Listing to signed LOI: 85 days
Signed LOI to close: 78 days
Watch the Video
The Challenge: The Right Time, but No Idea Where to Start
Brooke is an occupational therapist by trade. About 14 years ago she opened My Recess Therapy, a specialized pediatric therapy clinic, and in 2020 she added a second location. Over the years she built a team of 15 to 18 people, with therapists known across the community for their work.
By the time she was ready to sell, the practice ran on that team. She worked mostly behind the scenes and remotely, going into the clinic about two days a week. Like most owners, though, she never really clocked out.
“As every business owner knows, it was a constant thought in my head. I was always doing something for the business, always thinking about the business, always multitasking.”
For a few years, she and her family had talked about moving closer to her relatives. This year they decided to make it happen. With strong systems, a solid admin team, and a great reputation behind the clinics, the timing felt right.
“I just thought, you know what, this is the time. Let’s give it a try. Let’s see what happens.”
What she didn’t have was a roadmap. “I had so much confidence in my business and in the people in my business, and I wanted to make sure it was a good transition. But there were just so many unknowns. Where do you even start?”
She had two priorities:
Leave the practice on a strong foundation so it could keep serving the community
Protect the team and the reputation she’d spent 14 years building
From Valuation to Closing: How Baton Gave Brooke a Plan
When Brooke found Baton, selling suddenly felt possible.
“It kind of felt like taking a bite out of a giant elephant. But once I found the Baton website, I was like, there’s people that will help you and guide you and teach you.”
What happened at every stage
Valuation: Brooke had heard about valuations at business conferences for years, but the idea made her nervous. “I felt weird going to somebody and asking them, what is my business worth? What if they say it’s worth nothing?” With Baton, the valuation was the first step, and it came without pressure. “Nobody’s in your face. They just ask you numbers, you plug them in, you get a number back, and you talk to someone who helps you understand it.”
Buyer Outreach: Her listing surprised her. “They create it like a real estate listing. They take all of your best features, they show all of the best parts of your business, but it’s also very honest.” More than 80 buyers viewed it, 33 opened the data room, and 16 asked for an introduction.
Offer Selection and Negotiation: Five buyers submitted LOIs, and each conversation sharpened Brooke’s sense of who should take over. The buyer she chose was a colleague she had told about the sale on a walk around the neighborhood. She owned a pediatric therapy practice nearby and was immediately interested, so Brooke introduced her to Tanner, her Baton advisor, that day. “She understood the industry. She understood the ups and downs of the months. It couldn’t have worked out better.”
Diligence and Closing Support: Brooke calls herself a planner who loves control, and Tanner gave her a way to stay ahead. “I would ask him, what can I start preparing now, so that I’m not in panic mode when the next stage comes? And Baton had that all mapped out and ready to go.” Tanner joined her buyer calls and stepped in on financial questions. “He would come on and be my safety net.” Late in diligence, the buyer’s first lender got cautious. Baton connected the buyer with other lenders, the deal moved to a new bank, and the terms held. When final signing ran longer than expected, Tanner kept Brooke steady. “It’s happening, just take a breath, don’t worry about it.”
The Results
Brooke sold both locations to a local pediatric therapy operator, who added them to her existing practice. The deal was funded with bank financing plus a seller note and closed 78 days after the LOI was signed.
As a self-described “heart-led leader,” she cared most about the handoff to her team. She and the new owner decided to tell the staff together, in person, at the clinic. “It was a very emotional process. We did it together, which was great.”
Through Baton’s competitive outreach, intuitive platform, and end-to-end support, Brooke:
Got five LOIs and chose a buyer who already knew the industry and the community
Kept the deal on track when the first lender hesitated, because Baton had other lenders ready
Handed her team to a new leader they were excited to work with
“My team was excited about a new leader. They loved her. She’s amazing. And it was just knowing, okay, everything’s in good hands. I did the process right. And now on to the next chapter.”
What’s Next for Brooke?
Brooke and her family now live in Arkansas, close to her relatives. She is supporting the new owner remotely through a six-month transition. Otherwise, she’s focused on her family.
“It has opened up a lot more mom time for me. Mom brain energy, mom emotional energy, mom time energy. I’m definitely feeling a weight lifted, and I’m hoping that all my fun creativity comes back and I can add that into what I do next.”
Advice and Lessons for Future Sellers
Get a valuation, even if you’re just curious. Fear of hearing a bad number keeps many owners from ever asking. “That’s really the first step. What can I do next based on what I make off of my business sale?”
Let the market guide your price. When early interest didn’t turn into offers, adjusting the asking price brought three more LOIs in about a month. Having real buyer data made the decision clear.
Build a team that can run without you. Brooke could sell on her own timeline because her clinics already ran on strong systems and a trusted admin team. That made the practice easier for a new owner to take over.
You don’t have to do this alone. “This sounds so corny, but it’s so true. When I thought about selling my business years down the road, it felt like something too big for me to take on. Having Tanner in the whole process, I felt empowered the whole time. I felt like I understood things the whole time. Even if you’re just curious what your business is worth, going through Baton, having someone there to talk to and learn from, empowers you through a process that should be very empowering. You have a business that you’re selling. That’s a huge accomplishment.”