The difference between a business that funds your life and one that consumes it comes down to a single shift: thinking like an investor, not just an operator.

Most business owners work harder every year but never build real wealth. They chase growth without understanding what drives value. They make decisions in a vacuum, reacting to problems instead of executing a plan. And when it's time to exit, they discover their life's work isn't worth what they thought.

It doesn't have to be this way.

Go Public In Private reveals the systems publicly traded companies use to create billion-dollar valuations—and shows you how to apply them without the bureaucracy or loss of control. You'll know your own stock price, demand real returns on your time and capital, and build a business buyers compete to own.

Inside, you'll discover how to:

• Install investor-grade discipline that accelerates growth
• Track the metrics that actually increase enterprise value
• Build an advisory board that sharpens your strategy
• Share upside with your team without losing control
• Create a business that runs—and sells—without you

Your company should fund your financial independence, not trap you. This book shows you how.

About the author

As Chief Strategy Officer of an employee-owned CPA and advisory firm, SSC CPAs + Advisors, Michele Hammann, CPA/PFS, CVA has guided businesses from operational chaos to strategic exits worth millions. Her clients range from family enterprises to Fortune 500 boardrooms.

In her role as Regional Vice President + Partner at Merit Financial Advisors, Michele brings a crucial perspective to the owner’s journey: financial planning and investing operate by completely different rules for business owners. With most of their wealth concentrated in a single, illiquid asset—their company—traditional planning models fall short. Michele helps owners integrate business strategy with personal wealth strategy so they can grow, protect, and eventually realize the value they’ve built.

Every framework in this book was battle‑tested inside her own organizations first. She doesn’t just teach these principles—she lives them across two integrated leadership roles, proving that public‑grade systems work in private companies of any size.

Michele is based in Kansas, where she lives with her family and continues to advise business owners nationwide on growth strategy, valuation, and successful transitions.