Sound familiar?
You want out in three to five years
Whether it is a sale, a management buyout or the next generation — the business as it runs today is not ready, and part of you knows the biggest obstacle is how much of it is you.
Buyers do not pay for businesses; they pay for businesses that run without the person leaving. Every pound of profit that depends on the owner’s presence gets discounted — often savagely — at valuation. The good news: the same work that makes a business sellable makes it better to own, so nothing is wasted if you change your mind. Owner-independence, clean numbers, a leadership team that decides without you: three years is enough time to build all three, and barely enough time to build any of them by accident.
First moves — before you spend a pound on coaching
- Score today’s Owner Dependency Index — it is a fair proxy for how a buyer will see you
- Move from owner-led sales to a pipeline the team runs; revenue that walks out the door with you is worth little
- Get management accounts monthly and clean — diligence rewards boring numbers
If you do those and the wall moves, brilliant — you may not need us. If it moves and then moves back (this is common; structure decays without rhythm), that is the moment coaching earns its fee.
An owner who was here
Loom & Ledger Accountants — Accountancy practice, Harrogate. A practice made sellable in 30 months: Partner-dependent, unsellable → Offer received at 1.2× fees. Read what actually changed.
Free discovery call
Talk it through with someone who has carried it.
A free 45-minute discovery call. You talk, we ask questions, you leave with an honest read — whether or not that involves us.
No slides. No pressure. No cold calls afterwards.