OnwardLearn · Selling · Step 5. Get your business sale-ready
Making the business run without you
The short version
- The less the business depends on you, the more it is worth and the easier it is to sell.
- Start with customer relationships. Put your team in front of your best customers.
- Write down how the work gets done, especially the parts that live in your head.
- Build someone who can run the day without you.
- Most of this takes a year or more to show in the business. Start well before you sell.
Why this is worth the effort
Lesson 4.2 explains how buyers see a business that depends on its owner. They offer less, ask you to stay longer or ask you to carry more of the price. Every step here reduces that discount.
It also makes the business easier to run in the meantime.
Customer relationships
- Introduce your team to your largest customers, and have them handle the day-to-day contact.
- Bring someone with you to customer meetings, and let them lead some of them.
- Move communication to shared channels, such as a company email address or phone line, rather than your personal cell.
The goal is simple: when a customer calls, they ask for the business, not for you.
Pricing, estimating and know-how
- Write down how you price and estimate work. Even rough notes are a start.
- Train someone to do it with you, then check their work, then let them do it alone.
- Document your procedures: how a job is scheduled, how quality is checked, how problems are handled. These are often called standard operating procedures.
A second in command
Buyers look for someone who can run the business day to day. That might be an operations manager, a lead technician or an office manager who already makes decisions.
If that person exists, give them real authority now. If not, hiring or developing one is often the single biggest change you can make.
Licenses in your name
Some businesses operate under a license held by the owner personally. In some trades and states, a license can be held by a qualified employee on the business's behalf. Rules vary by state and trade. Lesson 5.6 covers licenses that have to transfer.
Supplier relationships
If your pricing or credit terms rest on a personal relationship, introduce a second person to your key suppliers. Put credit terms in writing where you can.
Show it in the results
Buyers believe what they can see. A month away from the business, with results holding steady, says more than any description in your [CIM](/learn/reference#confidential-information-memorandum "The document that describes a business for sale to a buyer who has signed a non-disclosure agreement. The numbers, the history, the customers, the people and the reason for selling."). The CIM is the confidential information memorandum, the full document buyers read about your business.
Take this to your own people
The questions for this topic, for your attorney, your accountant or your lender.
- For your M&A attorney: "Which licenses or permits are in my name, and can a qualified employee hold any of them for the business?" Listen for: a license-by-license answer based on your state's rules.
- For your key employees: "What would you need from me to handle this without me?" Listen for: specific gaps in knowledge, authority or tools. Each is a task on your list.
- For a broker or valuation professional: "Which of my changes would a buyer notice and value most?" Listen for: a short list of priorities, so you spend time where it counts.
When you’re ready
Most businesses are a few practical steps from a stronger handoff. Check your readiness