What is your business actually worth to a buyer?
Most business owners find out the answer at the worst possible moment — when they're already in negotiations. The work I do is about making sure you know the real number long before that moment arrives — and building a plan to close the gap.
The number in your head and the number in the marketplace are almost never the same.
Most business owners have a number. A figure they've carried around for years — sometimes based on a rough calculation, sometimes based on what they need it to be, sometimes based on what a friend's business sold for.
The marketplace doesn't know about that number. It doesn't care about it. It values what it can verify: transferable revenue, documented systems, a management team that doesn't leave with the owner, and a client base that isn't concentrated in three relationships.
The gap between the owner's number and the market's number is the most common — and most expensive — surprise in business sales. The good news is that it's almost always closable. But only with enough runway.
The eight value drivers that determine your multiple.
Buyers don't just buy revenue. They buy predictable, transferable, de-risked businesses. Here are the eight factors that move your number — and where most businesses have the biggest gaps.
Owner Dependency
What happens to the business if you disappear for 90 days? If the answer is "it slows down" — you have work to do. If the answer is "it falls apart" — buyers will price that in heavily.
Revenue Transferability
Is the revenue attached to you personally, or to the business? Relationships that live in your contacts don't transfer. Buyers are paying for what stays after you leave.
Documented Systems
Does the business run on documented processes, or on tribal knowledge? Buyers pay for systems, not for key people. If it only works because the right people show up, it's fragile.
Client Concentration
If your top three clients represent 60% of revenue, buyers see a liability, not an asset. Diversified revenue across many relationships transfers at a premium.
Management Depth
Is there a team that can run the business, or is there a founder and a group of capable employees? Buyers want to acquire a business, not a job that comes with the founder attached.
Financial Clarity
Clean books, accurate records, and a clear picture of true profitability. Not a mix of personal and business expenses. Not a story — a number you can stand behind in due diligence.
Growth Trajectory
Is revenue growing, flat, or declining? Momentum matters to buyers. A business trending up gets a premium. A business trending flat — even a profitable one — gets a discount.
Competitive Positioning
Does the business have something defensible — a niche, a reputation, a client base that would be difficult to replicate? Undifferentiated businesses compete on price. Positioned businesses command multiples.
See how your business scores
on all eight drivers.
The Exit Readiness Assessment walks you through each value driver and gives you a clear picture of where you stand. 13 minutes. No sales pitch. Just an honest look at the gaps.
Working backwards from your exit.
Every engagement is different. But the sequence is consistent — because the questions that matter most are almost always the same ones.
Discovery Call
30 minutes. I learn about your business, your timeline, and what you're building toward. I'll tell you what I see and what I'd prioritize. No pitch — just an honest conversation about where you are and whether there's a fit.
Valuation Reality Check
We look at your business through a buyer's eyes. What would they pay today? What's driving the gap between that number and yours? Where are the value drivers that need the most work in your timeline?
Value Acceleration Plan
A specific, prioritized roadmap — what to focus on in the next 12, 24, and 36 months to move your multiple. Not generic advice. Not a binder of recommendations. A plan built around your business and your exit window.
"Real wealth is built in a concentrated fashion. You got wealthy by putting 80% of your net worth into one thing — your business — and building it. Every advisor who tells you to diversify immediately doesn't understand how you actually got here."— David Ward, CFA, CEPA · Brookside Strategy & Consulting