Planning to sell your business? Start here first - A roadmap for owners
Dylan Gans
March 15, 2023 ⋅ 9 min read
This article was originally written in March 2023 and has since been updated with new discoveries and research in January 2026.
If you are planning to sell my business in the next year or two, the most valuable thing you can do today is slow down and plan. Great exits are designed, not improvised. This roadmap walks you through what to do first, what to get in order, and how to avoid common regrets so you can move with confidence.
You will see simple actions, not theory. The sequence below mirrors the practical flow Baton uses to help owners organize, value, and sell on their terms.
What “Ready to Sell” Really Means (Beyond Just Getting an Offer)
Being “ready” is not about having one interested buyer. It is a mix of three kinds of readiness that work together. When you see them as a system, you avoid surprises and keep control of the process.
Personal and financial readiness: Get clear on your life goals, cash needs, and what selling a business for retirement would look like for you. Knowing when is the right time to sell my business depends as much on your plans as on the market.
Operational readiness: Buyers pay more for repeatable, transferable operations. De-risking your business before sale, even in small ways, improves both price and certainty.
Market readiness: Understand the timing, buyer pools, and the typical timeline for selling a business so you pick a window that fits your goals.
Think of this section as your high-level business exit strategy. You are designing for outcomes, not just a number on a term sheet.
Step 1: Clarify Your Goals, Timing, and Non-Negotiables
You cannot optimize what you have not defined. The first step in exit planning for business owners is deciding what “good” looks like for you and your family, then backing into a plan.
Start with three prompts:
Why sell now? Retirement, a new project, a partner change, health, strategic sale, or industry consolidation. Your answer will shape whether selling a business to a competitor, selling a business to private equity, or a broader market process makes sense.
What must be true? Document non-negotiables such as minimum net proceeds, how long you are willing to stay for transition, and any promises to employees or customers.
What is your timing? Sketch a simple 12–36 month timeline to sell a business based on your goals and market seasonality.
Quick exercise: Rank your top three priorities (price, speed, legacy). That compass helps you choose the right path when trade-offs show up later.
Step 2: Get Your Financial House in Order
Every strong process starts with clean numbers. Buyers, lenders, and their advisors will scrutinize your books. Getting financials ready to sell a business is the single biggest stress reducer you can control.
From recent deals, three patterns consistently shorten diligence and improve outcomes: current, accrual-based bookkeeping; clear owner compensation and add-backs; and organized supporting documentation.
Messy records invite renegotiation, especially for SBA-financed buyers that underwrite directly against tax returns. Clean, consistent financials are the foundation for business valuation for owners, not just “nice to have.”
Use this simple checklist to prepare a business for sale:
Reconcile the last two to three years of financials and taxes, and normalize owner pay into SDE or EBITDA
Separate personal expenses from the business with clear notes and receipts
Standardize your chart of accounts, and document any one-time or non-operating items
Build a lightweight data room with financial statements, key contracts, leases, and licenses
Why it matters: Every hour you invest here reduces back-and-forth later, supports a defensible answer to “how much is my business worth,” and keeps momentum when offers arrive. For a refresher, see the SBA’s guide to selling your business and their checklists for records and compliance.
Step 3: Make the Business Less Dependent on You
Owner-as-linchpin is the most common operational red flag. Buyers discount companies that only work because the owner personally quotes jobs, approves big purchases, or holds key customer relationships. The fix is straightforward and powerful.
Focus on three levers:
Document the how: Write down how you quote, schedule, order, pay, and report. Then cross-train at least one other person to run each process.
Build a bench: Identify one to three people who can own slices of sales, operations, and finance. Move yourself into a coaching role with clear checkpoints.
Tackle concentration: If one customer or supplier accounts for a large share of revenue or input, diversify where possible over 6–12 months. Even modest progress changes the risk story.
These actions increase business value before selling by reducing perceived risk and improving transferability, two drivers that lift multiples. As a quick test, take a two-week vacation and see what breaks. The cracks you find are the roadmap to fix.
Step 4: Understand How Your Business Might Be Valued
Valuation is not a black box. Most small businesses are priced using a multiple of earnings, such as SDE or EBITDA, adjusted for what buyers look for in a business: Growth quality, customer concentration, margins, systems, and the credibility of your numbers. In select industries, revenue or other KPIs play a supporting role.
A practical way to start is to get an early value range so you can prioritize improvements. Owners who seek clarity early make better decisions about the steps to sell a small business, pricing, and deal structure.
If you want a deeper dive into asset sale versus stock sale structures, a neutral overview from Investopedia explains how each structure influences taxes and documentation, which becomes important when you begin shaping business sale deal terms.
Step 5: Map Your Sale Timeline and Assemble the Right Team
Process beats improvisation. A typical journey looks like this: Preparation, go-to-market, buyer outreach and conversations, letters of intent, due diligence when selling a business, closing, and transition. The question “how long does it take to sell a business?” varies by size and complexity, but preparation always speeds things up.
You do not need to hire everyone at once. Start with clarity and a value range, then add the right experts as the work demands.
Your Core Team and Decision Points
You have a clear picture of your goals and a cleaner set of books. The next lever is people.
The right team keeps momentum high, protects value, and helps you make better decisions at each step:
Attorney and CPA: Engage early enough to review structures and tax implications.
Broker, advisor, or platform: Choosing a business broker or advisor versus a modern platform depends on deal size, complexity, and your priority ranking from Step 1. Many owners prefer a tech-enabled process with expert guidance that keeps costs predictable and momentum high.
Wealth planner: If retirement is part of your plan, integrate personal cash-flow planning so your post-close life matches your expectations.
If you want a quick, narrative overview of the moving parts, SCORE’s exit planning resources are reliable references.
Common Mistakes Owners Make When Selling (and How to Avoid Them)
Sellers often trip on the same handful of issues.
The fixes are simple, and they pay off quickly:
Mistake 1: Selling out of burnout. You rush the process, under-prepare, and accept weak terms.
Do this instead: Stabilize operations, tidy the books, and set a realistic window. Even 60–90 days of focused preparation changes outcomes.
Mistake 2: Hiding problems. Buyers always find them, which erodes trust and price.
Do this instead: Be candid about warts and show a plan. In recent conversations, buyers moved faster when owners were honest about concentration or outdated systems and had a path to address them. Transparency beats defensiveness.
Mistake 3: Focusing only on the headline price. The wrong business sale deal terms can reduce your take-home more than a small price difference.
Do this instead: Evaluate the whole package, including cash at close, any seller note, earnout structure, and working-capital targets. Align terms to your priorities from Step 1.
Mistake 4: Disorganized diligence. Slow or incomplete responses invite retrades.
Do this instead: Use a simple diligence checklist, keep your data room current, and designate a point person to respond quickly. That keeps momentum and protects value.
Mistake 5: Going to market without a clear path. Owners ask, “What to do before selling your business,” but skip the order of operations.
Do this instead: Follow this roadmap. Clean financials first, transferability next, valuation clarity, then outreach. The sequence matters.
Mini-FAQ: Quick Hits to Cover Every Keyword Box
Sometimes you need short, direct answers.
Use these as conversation starters with your advisors:
What are the steps to sell a small business? Prepare financials, improve transferability, define price and terms, market to qualified buyers, negotiate LOI, complete diligence, close, and transition.
How much is my business worth? Value depends on earnings quality and risk. Start with a range and improve the drivers you control.
When is the right time to sell my business? When your personal goals, operations, and market conditions align.
Who might buy my company? Strategic buyers including a competitor, private equity, or an individual operator. Your goals will shape the path.
What buyers look for in a business: Good books, stable margins, diversified customers, clear processes, and low owner dependence.
Due diligence when selling a business: Expect requests for financials, contracts, HR, tax, and operations. Prepare in advance to avoid slowdowns.
What to do before selling your business: Finish the checklist in Step 2, then test your business without you for a week.
Business exit strategy in one line: Design your outcome first, then work backward with a simple plan.
These quick answers come straight from patterns we see across small-business deals.
The First Step Toward a Successful Exit Starts Today
Selling a company is a project, not a moment. Owners who prepare early earn more control, better terms, and smoother transitions. Your next move can be small, like reconciling last month’s books, documenting one mission-critical process, or getting a value estimate to anchor decisions.
When you are ready to go deeper, read our complete guide to selling a business, then decide whether to engage a partner or continue self-directed.
If you want a simple path to action, start with our primer on how to sell your business and use this roadmap as your daily checklist.
Ready to start your plan today? Get your free Baton valuation.