What the work actually consists of

Why preparation is a separate job from selling

A brokerage is paid when a business sells. That is the right incentive for running a transaction and the wrong one for telling an owner they are two years away. The result across the industry is visible in the numbers: only 20 to 30% of businesses taken to market actually close, according to the Exit Planning Institute.

This practice exists on the other side of that line. We are paid for the preparation, not for a sale, which means the answer "you are not ready, and here is what that would take" is one we can afford to give.

Stage 01 · Assessment, four to six weeks

We run the Value Builder suite properly rather than as a lead magnet. PREScorecovers personal readiness: whether you have decided what comes next, whether your family agrees, and how attached you are to being the person the business needs.Sellability Score assesses the eight value drivers acquirers actually price on. Freedom Score addresses whether the business can fund the life you expect afterwards.

The output is a written assessment naming the specific gaps, not a number. We also go through the things the instruments do not capture: transferability of your lease and key contracts, how much of next year's revenue is already committed, and whether anyone other than you makes decisions.

Stage 02 · Value-gap analysis, two to four weeks

Two figures. What you need to net after tax and fees to fund what comes next, worked out with whoever handles your personal finances. And what the business would likely bring today.

The gap between them is the most useful number in the whole engagement, because it is the one thing time can still change. A large gap sometimes means the plan is three years rather than eighteen months, and it is better to know that at the start.

Stage 03 · The plan, three to four weeks

A written plan covering twelve to twenty-four months, sequenced by two things: how much each item moves value, and how long it takes. Those two rankings are different, which is why sequencing matters.

Owner dependence goes near the front regardless of score, because a buyer wants to see a track record of someone else deciding and a track record cannot be compressed. Accounting cleanup can be done in a quarter. Customer concentration sits somewhere in between.

Stage 04 · Reviews, quarterly

Scheduled reviews against the plan, with the assessment re-run at the end of the engagement so the change is measured rather than claimed. Most plans fail at this stage, not at the writing stage, which is why the reviews are part of the engagement rather than an add-on.

How it ends

With a business that can transfer to a new owner, and an owner who has decided what happens next. Whether you sell after that, and who handles it, is your decision. The engagement letter states that you are free to take the business to any broker, and states plainly that two of our advisors also work as business brokers.

A plan that finishes and does not lead to a sale is not a failed engagement. Some owners go through this and decide to keep the business for another five years, holding something more valuable and less dependent on them. That is a good outcome.

What this costs

Engagements are scoped to the business, so the number comes out of a first conversation rather than off a page. We will tell you in that conversation if we think the free readiness score on The Exit Files is all you need.