Why Preparing Your Business for Sale Should Start Before You're Ready
Most business owners spend years building their business.
Very few spend enough time preparing to sell it.
An owner may know that retirement is coming, but the actual decision to sell often happens much later.
That's when we start looking at the business through a buyer's eyes.
Are the financials clean?
How dependent is the business on the owner?
Are customer relationships tied to the company or personally to the seller?
Is there a management team in place?
Are the add backs documented?
These aren't always things you can fix a few months before going to market.
Most Sellers Start Preparing Too Late
The latest Q2 2026 IBBA and M&A Source Market Pulse Report found that across every deal size studied, a majority of sellers had completed less than one year of exit planning or none at all before beginning the sale process.
Retirement was also the leading reason owners sold their businesses across every market segment.
That tells me there is still a big gap between knowing you will eventually sell and actually preparing the business for that sale.
What Does This Mean for Business Owners?
You don't need to know exactly when you're going to sell to start preparing.
In fact, that's probably the best time to do it.
If you discover that the business is too dependent on you, you have time to build a management team.
If the financials need work, you have time to clean them up.
If customer concentration is an issue, you have time to diversify.
And if the valuation isn't where you want it to be, you have time to understand what could increase the value of the business before going to market.
Give Yourself Options
Exit planning doesn't mean committing to a sale.
You may sell next year. You may decide to wait several years.
The point is to understand where the business stands today and what a buyer is likely to see when they look at it.
The goal isn't just to be ready to sell.
It's to have a business that's worth buying when you're ready.# Untitled article