But by the time you feel ready, it’s usually too late to fix what matters most.
Here’s the truth: buyers don’t just look at your business today.
They look 2–3 years back to see if your performance is stable, your systems are strong, and your profits are real.
They won’t pay top dollar — or they’ll walk away.
You’ve spent years growing your business. You’ve got customers, a great reputation, and strong revenue.
But when it’s time to sell, buyers don’t care about what you could do. They care about what your business has actually done — without drama, chaos, or owner heroics.
They’ll ask:
These are questions you can’t fake last-minute.
They take time — at least 2–3 years — to prepare for properly.
If you want to sell in 3 years, here’s what to start working on now:
Clean up your books, normalize add-backs, and improve margins.
Build systems, train your team, and delegate what you still own.
Create SOPs, reduce customer and vendor concentration, and keep records that build buyer trust.
Each year of clean, steady performance increases the multiple and smooths the path to closing.
Open a doc and answer this: “In 3 years, I want my business to…”
Write 3 bullet points: revenue goal, your role (or lack of it), and how the business runs.
Now reverse-engineer the path. You just created your early-stage exit plan.
Download the free Exit Toolkit to start your journey the smart way.
