Welcome to The Affordable Business Partner

Gil Poulin, Founder

Gil Poulin is a business broker, co-owner of The Affordable Business Partner, a blogger, newspaper writer, and online course creator who helps Canadians buy and sell businesses—with clarity, confidence, and fewer costly mistakes. 

He has learned a few things along the way.

After more than 45 years buying, fixing, and selling businesses, one thing has become clear:

Good businesses don’t always sell — not because they shouldn’t… but because they aren’t properly prepared or positioned.

Many owners:
• Struggle to explain how their business works
• Don’t fully support their asking price
• View their business from the inside out — not how buyers do
• Overestimate the size of the buyer pool

And in the end, it’s buyers and lender — the ones writing the cheque — who decide what your business is worth.

The only thing you can control is how well your business is prepared, presented, priced and positioned against competing opportunities.

Why This Matters

Over the years, Gil has seen:

• Deals fall apart late in the process
• Owners overwhelmed by the complexity
• Avoidable mistakes that cost time, money, and opportunities

The issue usually isn’t the business.

It’s always in the process.

Because selling your business isn’t just a transaction.

It’s a transition.

Outside the Office

When Gil isn’t working with business owners, you’ll likely find him:

• Enjoying acreage life
• Playing golf (or looking for his ball)
• Cooking
• Telling Funny Stories
• Spending time with family and friends

(And yes… he’s read more purchase agreements than he’d like to admit.)

Jody Craig, Co-Owner & Operations Lead

Jody joined The Affordable in 2025 - and if there’s a better way to do something, she’s probably already found it.

With 37 years of experience, she founded Viewpoint Executive Solutions in 2019, helping organizations bring structure, clarity, and efficiency to how they operate.

In simple terms: if something felt messy, inefficient, or harder than it needed to be - Jody stepped in and fixed it.

What Jody Brings

Over the years, Jody has worked with:

• Corporate organizations
• Non-profits
• Post-secondary institutions
• Professional sports and entertainment groups

If it involves people, systems, and moving parts — she knows how to make it run better.

Why It Works

Jody brings a strong operational lens to everything we do.

That means our process reflects the same things we help our clients build:

• Simplicity
• Structure
• Clarity
• Efficiency

Or as Jody might put it: “There’s usually a better way to do this.”

(And she’s usually right.)

Life Outside Work

When she’s not helping bring order to the chaos:

• She enjoys acreage life
• Being outdoors
• Gardening      
• Spending time with family (and granddaughter) 
• Giving back through volunteer work

It’s a full schedule but she’s very good at keeping things on track.