“How long does it take to successfully sell your business?” It’s the question I’m asked most frequently, and frankly, it’s a bit like asking “how long is a piece of string?” After 25 years and over 100 business transactions, I can tell you that timing is absolutely everything—and most business owners get it spectacularly wrong. […]
Here’s a sobering statistic that should make every business owner sit up and take notice: 80% of businesses never get sold. Not because they’re unprofitable, not because there aren’t buyers, but because they’re simply not prepared for a business sale process. After 25 years and over 100 business transactions, I’ve seen brilliant entrepreneurs with profitable […]
Just imagine: you’ve found your buyer, shaken hands on the deal, and you’re already mentally spending your retirement fund on that dream holiday home. Then reality hits like a freight train—welcome to due diligence, or as I call it, “Dante’s ten levels of hell.” After 25 years and over 100 business transactions, I’ve witnessed countless […]
How stepping back too early without proper succession and exit planning almost cost one business owner everything. As I sat across from Marcus in that rain-soaked London café, watching the apocalyptic weather mirror the chaos in his business, I realised we were staring at a perfect storm that threatens every successful owner-manager: the exit planning […]
Last month, I received a call from a business owner who’d just watched his closest friend suffer a heart attack at 52. “Christine,” he said, “I’ve been building this company for twenty years, and I suddenly realised—if something happened to me tomorrow, my family would inherit a mess, not an asset.” This conversation happens more […]
Why Your Business Value Could Be Absolutely Zero
As I sat across from Sarah recently, listening to her recount the gruelling five-month due diligence process that nearly broke her, I was reminded of a harsh reality: most business owners have absolutely no idea what “exit ready” actually means. As a result most business sale activity results in failure. Sarah’s story is all too […]
The Secret to Unlocking The Highest Business Value
At 63, David thought his architectural practice was his retirement fund. After 16 years building a respected firm with his partner, employing six staff, and maintaining a loyal client base, he assumed his business had significant value. Then reality hit – he hasn’t spent any time exit planning. When exit planning inquiries started appearing in […]