Sell your business (or plan your exit)

Someday you'll leave your business — by selling it, handing it down, or closing it — and the owners who plan that exit years ahead walk away with far more than those who scramble at the end. A business that runs without you, with clean books and steady profit, is what a buyer actually pays a premium for. Building toward the sale is really just building a better business.

Do this

1. Start early: the best time to prepare is 2–3 years before you sell — buyers pay more for proof, not promises.
2. Make it sellable: clean, reconciled books; steady profit; and a business that runs without you (see Scale Up → Systems).
3. Get a real valuation and organize the records a buyer will demand — financials, contracts, customer lists, procedures.
4. Find the buyer and plan the handoff: a broker or your network, then a transition that keeps customers and staff on board.

Get your business ready to sell

• Started 2–3 years out — not the month you want to leave
• Books clean and reconciled; 3+ years of solid, believable financials
• The business runs without you (documented systems, a capable team)
• Not dependent on one big customer — spread-out, sticky revenue
• A real valuation done (multiple of SDE/earnings) — know your number
• Records organized for a buyer: financials, contracts, leases, procedures
• A transition plan so customers and staff stay through the handoff