The hardest part of selling my business wasn't the paperwork. It was everything nobody told me to prepare for. Looking back, there are three things I wish I had done sooner: decide what life looks like after the sale, know my real number before talking to anyone, and make myself replaceable.
I spent about six years growing a senior care company in Los Angeles. Owning it was nothing like my corporate career. I wore a lot of hats, and when it came time to sell, I learned that preparing for the money side is only half the job.
Decide what life looks like after the sale
I don't mean the sale price. I mean the Monday morning after. Where do you go? What fills the hours the business used to take? Who are you when you are no longer the owner?
Owners who skip this question can regret even a good sale. The business gave them structure, purpose and a team, and the sale takes all of that away on a single day. Having a real answer, whether it is another venture, more time with family, a board seat or something else entirely, makes it far easier to say yes when the right offer arrives. It doesn't have to be planned in detail, but it should be decided.
Know your real number before you talk to anyone
Not what your friend got. Buyers pay a multiple of the profit they can verify on your tax returns, so that's where your number should start. According to BizBuySell, SBA lenders typically underwrite from tax returns, which means profit that isn't on the return is hard for a buyer to finance.
Knowing your number early does two things. It keeps you from anchoring on a price the market won't support, and it tells you whether the sale gets you where you need to be. If the gap is too wide, you have time to close it before you go to market. A valuation built on your documented earnings gives you a range you can explain, instead of a single hopeful figure.
Make yourself replaceable
Ask yourself: if I took 30 days off, where would the business break? Whatever breaks is what a buyer sees as risk. Every hat you wear is something a buyer has to replace, and the more the business depends on you, the less it is usually worth.
Making yourself replaceable takes longer than most owners expect. Client relationships need to move to your team. Processes that live in your head need to be written down. Decisions need someone else empowered to make them. Starting early lets you do this gradually, while the business keeps running.
It's a financial decision and an emotional one
Selling a business is a financial decision, but it's an emotional one too, and it's easy to prepare only for the money side. If an exit is anywhere in your next few years, start on all three now. My exit readiness checklist is a good place to see where you stand today.
Ready to talk it through? Talk with me about selling. No cost, no obligation.
Read the transcript
The hardest part of selling my business wasn't the paperwork. It was everything else nobody told me to prepare for.
I spent about six years growing my senior care company. And looking back, there are three things I wish I had done sooner before I sold.
The first is deciding what life looks like after the sale. I don't mean just the sale price. I mean the Monday morning after. If you skip that part, it's easy to regret even a good sale.
Next is knowing your real number before you talk to anyone. Not just what your friend got. Buyers pay a multiple of profit that they can verify in your tax returns. So that's where you start.
And the third is making yourself replaceable. Ask yourself, if I took 30 days off, where would the business break? Whatever breaks is what a buyer sees as risk.
Selling is a financial decision, but it's an emotional one too. And it's easy to only prepare for the money side. So if an exit is anywhere in your next few years, save this one.
