01
Business readiness Can this company be sold to someone who is not you?
B1 If you were unreachable for 30 days, what would happen to revenue?It would collapse. Nothing meaningful happens without me. It would drop noticeably and take months to recover. It would dip slightly. No measurable change.
B2 What share of revenue comes from your single largest customer?More than 40% 25% to 40% 10% to 25% Under 10%
B3 Could a new owner run your core operations from written documentation?Nothing is written down. Some things are, mostly the routine ones. Most of it, with gaps in the parts only I do. Yes, and someone has done it while I was away.
B4 Is there a management team that makes real decisions without you?No. Every decision comes to me. People run tasks, not decisions. One or two people decide within their area. A team runs the business and I set direction.
B5 How much of next year's revenue is already contracted or recurring?None. Every dollar is re-won each year. Under a quarter. Between a quarter and half. More than half.
B6 Are your lease, supplier and customer agreements transferable to a new owner?I do not know, and I have not looked. Some are, and at least one important one is not. Most are, with consent required. Yes, and I have confirmed it.
02
Owner readiness Are you ready, personally, for this to be over?
O1 Have you decided specifically what you will do the day after closing?I have not thought about it. Vaguely. Travel, time off, something. I have a direction but no commitments. Yes, specifically, and I have started arranging it.
O2 Have you discussed selling with your spouse or family and reached agreement?No conversation has happened. It has come up. We do not agree. We have talked and broadly agree. Yes, and we agree on timing and on what happens after.
O3 Would you stay on through a transition period if a buyer required it?No, under no circumstances. Very reluctantly, and briefly. Yes, for a defined period. Yes, and I have thought about what that role would look like.
O4 How much of who you are is tied to running this business?It is most of my identity. A great deal of it. Some, but I have other things. It is what I do, not who I am.
O5 Have you had a structured conversation with an advisor about your exit in the last 12 months?No. An informal chat with my accountant. Yes, once, with an advisor. Yes, and it produced a written plan.
O6 If an acceptable offer arrived next month, would you sign?No. I am not ready and I know it. I would stall. Probably, after some hesitation. Yes.
03
Financial readiness Do the numbers survive a buyer's accountant?
F1 How are your books kept?Informally, or I could not say. Cash basis, no outside review. Cash basis, reviewed by an outside accountant. Accrual basis, reviewed or audited by an outside accountant.
F2 Could you produce three years of clean financial statements within one week?No. With a month of work. Within two weeks. Yes, this week.
F3 Do personal expenses run through the business?Yes, substantially, and not separately identifiable. Yes, and identifying them would take real work. A few, and they are clearly tagged. No, or documented to the transaction level.
F4 Do you know what your business is worth today, from something other than a rule of thumb?No. I have a multiple I heard somewhere. I have an informal broker opinion. I have a written valuation from the last 18 months.
F5 Do you know what you need to net, after tax and fees, to fund what comes next?No. A rough figure, never checked. A figure worked out with an advisor. Yes, and it is stress-tested against a financial plan.
F6 Is there a gap between what you need and what the business would likely bring?I have no idea whether there is a gap. There is a large gap. There is a small gap. No gap, or the business clears my number.