After a Tough Year, Is It Time to Think About Selling Your Business? (Part 2)

In This Article: I continue the conversation from Part 1 by looking at what buyers really need to see before they feel confident in your business. I explain why perfection is not the goal, why transferable value matters, and why the personal side of selling your company deserves serious thought. If you are considering an exit in the next few years, this article will help you think about preparation, timing, and the questions worth asking before you enter the market.

Part 2: What A Buyer Really Needs to See

In Part 1, I wrote about the importance of seeing your business through a buyer’s eyes.

That is not always easy.

When you have spent years building a company, you naturally see it through the lens of effort, history, loyalty, sacrifice, and experience. You know what the business has survived. You know where it is strong. You know why certain decisions were made. You know what the company means to your family, your employees, your customers, and your own identity as a leader.

A buyer sees something different.

A buyer is trying to understand whether the business can keep producing results after you are no longer leading it in the same way.

That is why preparation matters.

Not because your business has to be perfect.

Because the buyer has to believe in it.

Buyers Do Not Need Perfect. They Need Confidence.

One of the biggest misconceptions I hear from owners is this:

“I need to clean everything up before I even think about selling.”

No, you do not.

If you wait for perfection, you may never begin.

Buyers do not expect a flawless business. They expect to find places where they can improve, invest, and grow. In many cases, that is part of what makes the opportunity attractive.

What they do need is confidence.

They need confidence in the numbers.

They need confidence in the leadership team.

They need confidence that customers will stay.

They need confidence that revenue is not overly dependent on one relationship, one channel, one product line, or one person.

They need confidence that the business can succeed without you carrying the whole thing on your back.

That last point is critical.

Many owners have built excellent companies by being deeply involved in everything. That may have helped the business grow. But when it is time to sell, too much owner dependency can reduce buyer confidence.

The question becomes:

What is this business worth without you at the center of it every day?

That is not an insult to the owner. It is the question a buyer has to answer before they write the check.

Transferable Value Is What Buyers Pay For

A business can be profitable and still be difficult to transfer.

That distinction is important.

Profit matters, of course. But buyers are also looking at whether the business has systems, leadership depth, customer stability, clear financials, a believable growth path, and a foundation they can build on.

That is transferable value.

It means the company’s value is not trapped in the owner’s personal relationships, instincts, memory, or daily involvement.

If every important decision runs through you, that is a risk.

If the financial story takes too much explanation, that is a risk.

If the next level of leadership is not ready, that is a risk.

If growth opportunities are real but not clearly articulated, that is a missed opportunity.

A buyer may still be interested. But those issues can affect price, terms, structure, timing, and leverage.

My work with owners is often about identifying these issues early enough to do something about them.

Not in a panic.

Not once the buyer has already found them.

Early enough to make the business stronger, more understandable, and more attractive.

The Growth Story Matters

Buyers are not only buying what the company is today.

They are buying what they believe it can become.

That means your growth story matters.

Many owners have a clear sense of where the company could go next. They know the untapped markets. They know the customer segments they have not fully pursued. They know the product or service opportunities. They know the operational improvements that could create more scale.

But too often, that story lives in the owner’s head.

That is not enough.

A buyer needs to see the path. They need to understand the opportunity, the reasoning behind it, the resources required, and why the company is positioned to win.

This is where my marketing background becomes very useful.

Before I became an executive coach, I spent years in senior marketing roles at Fortune 500 companies. That experience taught me how to study markets, identify competitive advantage, and position a company so the right audience understands its value.

That same discipline applies to selling a business.

A buyer needs a clear reason to believe.

Not hype. Not exaggeration. Not a wish list.

A credible growth story.

The Right Buyer Matters Too

Not every buyer is the right buyer.

That is something owners sometimes learn too late.

Some buyers may want to preserve what you have built and help it grow.

Some may see your company mainly as an asset to absorb, cut, or restructure.

Some may value your people and culture.

Some may not.

Some may have the financial capacity to close.

Some may consume months of your time and never get there.

Part of preparing for an exit is thinking carefully about what kind of buyer makes sense for your company and for you.

Are you looking for a strategic buyer?

A private equity group?

A family office?

An internal successor?

A partial sale?

A staged transition?

Each path has different implications. The right answer depends on the business, the market, your goals, your timeline, and what you want life to look like after the deal.

That last piece matters more than most owners expect.

The Part No One Talks About Enough

What happens after?

This is the part of the exit conversation that is too often pushed aside.

Everyone focuses on the deal. The valuation. The terms. The buyer. The tax planning. The closing date.

All of that matters.

But the day after the sale matters too.

I have had conversations with CEOs who achieved the financial outcome they wanted and still felt unprepared for what came next.

For years, the business gave them purpose, structure, authority, identity, community, and urgency. Their calendar was full. People needed them. Decisions mattered. The company was not just what they owned. It was part of who they were.

Then the deal closes.

And suddenly, the question becomes much more personal.

Who am I without the business?

What do I want my days to look like?

How involved do I want to remain?

What does my family need from me now?

What kind of work, contribution, or impact still matters to me?

What do I want this next chapter to feel like?

These are not soft questions.

They are leadership questions.

A successful exit is not only about what you receive. It is also about what you are moving toward.

Selling Is a Business Decision and a Personal Transition

When I sold my own company, I learned that the transaction is only one part of the story.

Yes, the numbers matter. Yes, the structure matters. Yes, the deal team matters.

But so does the owner.

You are not a machine making a purely financial calculation. You are a person who built something meaningful. You may feel pride, relief, anxiety, grief, excitement, doubt, and freedom, sometimes in the same week.

That is normal.

It is also why the right support matters.

An attorney can protect the legal terms.

A CPA can help with tax planning.

A banker or broker can help with the market process.

A wealth advisor can help you think about what comes next financially.

A coach helps you think clearly as the leader at the center of it all.

My role is to help you prepare the business and prepare yourself. I help you ask better questions, see around corners, think through the buyer’s lens, and stay grounded while making decisions that may affect your company, your family, your employees, and your future.

Don’t Wait Until You Are “Ready”

Many owners wait too long to begin.

They say, “I will think about this when I am ready to sell.”

The problem is that by the time you feel ready, you may already be late.

The best preparation often happens years before a sale. That gives you time to reduce dependency on you, strengthen the leadership team, clean up the financial story, address concentration risks, clarify growth opportunities, and think seriously about what you want next.

You may decide to sell.

You may decide not to sell.

You may decide to grow for another few years.

You may decide to bring in a president, pursue a partial sale, transfer ownership internally, or prepare the company for a later transition.

The point is not to rush the decision.

The point is to create options.

And options are one of the most valuable things a CEO can have.

Start With the Questions That Matter

If this year has caused you to think differently about your business, pay attention to that.

You do not need to have all the answers today.

But you should begin with the right questions.

How prepared is my business for an exit?

How would a buyer view the company today?

Where am I too central to the business?

What risks would appear during diligence?

What would increase buyer confidence?

What growth story would be credible?

Who would the right buyer be?

What do I want after the sale?

Those questions are not meant to pressure you. They are meant to give you clarity.

At Coach4Execs, I created the Business Exit Value Questionnaire to help owners begin that process. It is a practical starting point for understanding how prepared your business may be and where value may be at risk before you enter the market.

You may find that you are closer than you thought.

You may find that there is meaningful work to do.

Either answer is useful.

What matters is knowing early enough to act.

A Final Thought

You have spent years building your business.

You have made the hard calls. You have carried the responsibility. You have created value through persistence, judgment, and courage.

If selling is even a possibility in the next few years, this is the time to prepare.

Not because you need to rush.

Because you deserve to make the decision from a position of strength.

Selling your business may be one of the most important decisions you ever make as a CEO. It affects your company, your family, your employees, your legacy, and the next chapter of your life.

You do not have to think through that alone.

And you should not wait until the buyer is already at the table to find out what your business is really worth.

Start Here

I’ve created a free assessment at Coach4Execs to help you answer two critical questions:

• How prepared is my business for an exit?
• How much value am I potentially leaving on the table?

You can take it here: Business Exit Value Questionnaire

You’ll also get access to a free downloadable guide outlining the key steps to prepare and sell your business the right way.

📘 Download your free Exit Timeline & Resource Guide, a roadmap to prepare your company and yourself.

🧭 Take the free Transferable Value Assessment to see where you stand today.

💬 Let’s talk. As your Exit Coach, I’ll help you design the plan that turns your business into a legacy and your exit into a launchpad.

Georganne Goldblum,
CEO of Coach4Execs
Exit & Executive Coach, Vistage Florida Chair

About Georganne

Georganne Goldblum
is a seasoned executive coach with over 20 years of experience, specializing in coaching senior executives to outperform their goals and competition. Drawing from her impressive background as a Fortune 500 executive, management consultant, entrepreneur, and private investor with over 25 years of management experience, Georganne brings a wealth of knowledge and expertise to her coaching. She helped 7 companies optimize their business exits in the last 5 years, netting over $1.1 billion. Over the last 9 years, assisted 13 companies in achieving exits totaling over $2 billion.

An MBA graduate from the renowned NYU Stern School of Business, her impact and influence in the industry are evident through the numerous accolades and awards she has received, including the prestigious Charles “Red” Scott Award. She has been recognized as one of the Most Influential Businesswomen in South Florida. Connect with her on LinkedIn.