Why Do This To Your Business?
May 31, 2025
You know how when you go to trade in your car you give it the best washing and detailing you have ever done since you bought it? Wash, wax, polish the chrome, vacuum the interior, Armor All the leather and plastic, clean your engine for the first time and take it in for its overdue oil change. We all do it because we think it will greatly increase the value.
We do the same when we want to sell our house. Clean, paint, repair, mow, etc. Polish up the curb appeal and stage the interior. Why? Because we think most people won’t look past the polish to see the flaws, so we can get more money for the property.
We make our vehicles and our homes sellable.
If you’re a business owner and you want to sell the business what should you do? Make Your Business Sellable!
If you’re a business owner and you think you will NEVER sell your business what should you do? Make Your Business Sellable!
Why?
But wait- Why should I make my business sellable if I’m never going to sell it? First of all you should never say never because we just don’t know what the future might bring. With that said, just like in the example of selling your house or car, when you desire to sell them you do the things that we all know we should have been doing from day one of our ownership.
When you sell your house you make sure it’s clean and attractive. You make sure all the systems (appliances, HVAC, plumbing, electrical, etc.) are working properly. Your business has systems. Or at least it should have systems. Wait, you mean it doesn’t? That’s what I’m talking about.
A Sellable Business Is A Better Business
Make your business sellable today so it runs at its best while you own and operate it. Why not do that for yourself, your employees, and your customers? Most business owners decide they want to sell, or have to sell, and then they scramble at the last minute doing all that work for someone else’s benefit when they could have benefited from it themselves during all those years of ownership.
It’s like when I sold my last house. I spent a year slowly remodeling a little at a time. Then when we had the opportunity and the means to move to a place we always wanted to live we pushed hard for the last thirty days to finish so we could sell it. We did more of the remodel in the last month than we did in the previous year. And now someone else is living in that house enjoying my remodel work.
Sadly, 70% of the businesses that are for sale today will never sell. And some even say it’s more like 90%.
Benefits Of A Sellable Business
1. Freedom
Buyers don’t want to buy a business that cannot run when the owner steps away. This might take a total mindset shift for you the owner, but you must have a business that can run without you. That means that once you solve this problem you get to take vacations, spend time with the family, and even have the luxury of getting sick occasionally.
2. Increased Profitably
You will have to put systems and processes in place that make your business more attractive to buyers. Those systems and processes will make the business more efficient, more profitable, and scalable.
3. Options
In the real world things happen to people. We find new opportunities, we change our minds about our business, we get divorced, get sick, burned out, and unfortunately sometimes we die. All reasons for unexpectedly wanting or needing to sell your business. There’s very little that’s worse than getting stuck with a business that you or your heirs don’t want but can’t sell. Having a sellable business gives you options for a better exit.
4. Less People Friction – Better Leadership Culture
Making your business sellable means developing a company culture of leadership, clarity and accountability. A team, well aligned with company goals and values, will have better morale and productivity, better engagement and much higher employee retention. Imagine a team with minimal chaos!
5. A Much Better Payout
When you decide to make your exit, whenever that may be, if you have made your business sellable (in other words attractive to buyers) you will attract higher quality buyers and get a higher price.
These are just some of the benefits of making your business sellable. The sooner you do it, the better off your business will be. If you want your business to run at its best, make it sellable!
Special thanks to all our new and continuing subscribers! Enjoy!