You can optimize a hundred things before you sell. But buyers in the $2M–$20M range are really only looking for three: a sales engine that doesn't depend on you, financials they can trust, and operations that run without a single point of failure. Everything we write maps to one of these three pillars.
Build a sales engine that isn't built on the owner. Transferable relationships. Repeatable process. Revenue that doesn't walk out the door when you do.
Know your gross profit by product and service. Clean books. EBITDA that a buyer can trust. No surprises during due diligence.
Documented processes. A leadership bench. Institutional knowledge that lives in the business, not in one person's head.
If your biggest accounts would leave when you do, a buyer sees risk — not revenue. The complete guide to building a transferable sales engine.
A private equity firm called about buying your business. Here's what to do — and what not to say — before you take the meeting.
Your best client calls your cell, not the office. A buyer looks at that and sees one thing: risk. Here's how to transition relationships without losing trust.
It's not top-line revenue. It's concentration, repeatability, and who owns the relationship. Here's how to see your pipeline through a buyer's eyes.
You've been closing deals for 20 years. Handing that to someone else feels impossible. It's not — but it takes a different approach than most hiring playbooks suggest.
You hit a ceiling and can't figure out why. The answer is usually in the mirror. How to break through without burning out.
Your books tell a story. Make sure it's the one you want a buyer to read. The complete guide to financial readiness.
Your broker gave you a number. Your gut gave you a number. They're probably both wrong. Here's what buyers actually pay.
You've heard the term. Buyers live by it. A plain-language breakdown of what it is, how it's calculated, and why it determines your exit price.
Most owners know total revenue and total profit. Buyers want it broken down by product, service, and customer segment.
Inconsistent books, personal expenses run through the business, revenue concentration — the things that make buyers walk away or slash their offer.
The unsexy work that adds hundreds of thousands to your exit price. Where to start, what to prioritize, and what buyers will forgive.
If the business can't run without you, it's worth less — and your team is at risk. The complete guide to operational independence.
The difference between an owner-dependent business and one that runs without you can be 1–2 full turns of EBITDA. Here's what that costs you — in dollars.
The morbid question every owner avoids. But it's the same question every buyer is asking.
Your team talks about this when you're not in the room. What happens if you sell? What happens if something happens to you?
You know you should. You haven't. Here's a practical approach that doesn't require hiring a consultant to follow you around with a clipboard.
Delegation isn't just giving people tasks. It's giving them authority, context, and room to make mistakes. Most owners skip at least one of those.
Want to know where your business stands on all three?
Take the 2-minute Owner Dependence quiz or start a conversation.
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