This first issue of ‘Exitable: Business Valuation and Sales’ is packed with background information on the topic so that you can understand how and why it would be beneficial for you. It's lengthy, but future issues will be shorter!

“It takes as much energy to wish as it does to plan.” - Eleanor Roosevelt

This blog series, entitled "Exitable: Business Valuation and Sales" is designed to provide gentle education on the importance of planning your business exit strategy.

There will be plenty of blogs to keep you filled with information related to different aspects of this process so that you can be reminded about the need for a plan. (Take control and start planning NOW rather than later).

The Importance of Planning the Sale of a Business

Why is it Important to Plan the Sale of Your Business? (Read on and you’ll find out!)
- Over 85% of people don't sell their business, whether this is because they've failed to give them transferable value, or they just don't get to it. This is scary but true. Check out our poor business sale statistics blog post to learn more.
- Most businesses don't sell because their owners never bother to plan for it. By the time they finally want to get rid of the company, it's already too late and no one wants to buy it.
- For the majority of business owners, their company is worth 50-90% of their net total assets. Therefore, without proper planning, the inability to correctly value and sell your business could have disastrous effects.
- To exit your business successfully, you must form a plan. This generally takes a few years to implement changes. However, it is always beneficial to start planning for a sale as sooner rather than later.

The How to Sell a Business blogs will offer crucial information for anyone interested in selling their business.

What you can expect from our blogs

This series of blogs will provide you with all the information you need to plan and execute a successful business sale, including decision-making, tax considerations, choosing an intermediary, seller financing, deal killers and more...

We identify over 60 potential obstacles that could prevent your business from being sold successfully – businesses simply aren't able to be sold until these obstacles are identified and addressed.

"The path to success is to take massive, determined action." - Anthony Robbins

The time for YOU to act is now!

Ideally, you would've started preparing to leave the business on the day you started. Unfortunately, very few people do that and are left high and dry when the time comes to sell.

In fact, most small business owners don't plan their exit at all and subsequently miss out on receiving optimal funds for all their hard work. It can be difficult to sell a business, but once you get started, it's much easier to keep going...

...Many people let opportunities pass them by due to a lack of knowledge or planning, but more often than not it is because they cannot avoid the tendency to leave things unchanged. (Laziness?)

You feel that you have more important things to do with your time, but ultimately nothing is more important for your business than ensuring you have an exit plan giving YOUR business value!

This blog will touch on this theme frequently to help you break out of your comfort zone and seize new opportunities as they come your way.

In basic terms, this inactivity can be defined as an object's unwillingness to change its state of motion.

In other words, it takes a greater force to move an object that is at rest than it does to keep an object in motion. Business owners often get caught in a trap of complacency, never taking the time to really see how their business is progressing. From a broad perspective, it's often better to work on your business rather than constantly being bogged down by the day-to-day operations. When you're trying to sell your company, this distinction becomes even more important.

Why you need to make your business valuable

When health declines, age advances, or problems with money, employees, customers, and competition become too much to handle - owners are forced to sell their business.

By the time most business owners decide to take action, their companies have been stuck in a rut for years.

Too often, businesses have been driven into the ground so badly that they can no longer be saved or sold.

And for small business owners, this is an unfortunately common occurrence. It's already too late to help them by the time you hear about it. So, we encourage those who haven’t already, to form their exit plan now.

No-charge, no-obligation evaluations are a great way for business brokers to help their clients plan for a successful and profitable sale. They want to establish a trusting, long-term relationship with you so that when it comes time for you to sell the business, they will be the first ones you think of.

A great way to take control of your business sale is to join the Exitable family. You'll learn how to finish the entire process by yourself, without needing costly brokers who will eat into your profits. We can help you:
- Obtain an understanding of your business' value and why.
- Determine what is holding you back from selling your business.

Maximise the value of your business by identifying opportunities for improvement.

A Well-informed Consumer Is Our Most Valued Customer

Unfortunately, most companies are not in a fit way to be sold. It's extremely discouraging to only have the opportunity to create an educated consumer after it's too late when the prospective seller's business had reached the point of not being valuable enough to sell. Without proper planning, business owners may face valuation obstacles that result in a much lower business value than anticipated.

The point of this blog is to alter the landscape for our readers. Most businesses are never sold- only around 15% are- but we think that number could climb to 85% if business owners realized they need an exit strategy. We want them to be educated consumers.

The objectives of the Exitable: Business Valuation and Sales blog

Our purpose is to teach business owners why it's important to overcome inactivity when planning for the sale of your business. This will not only raise the value of their business, but this will help them steer clear of any issues they may come across while selling.

We want to help small business owners exit their businesses successfully and affordably. To do this, we provide free educational resources and connect them with professional advisors, such as exit planners, business brokers, intermediaries, and valuation firms.

Overcome laziness and stop being inactive

You can increase the value of your small business and get a head start on planning your exit strategy by calling a business broker for a free consultation. Most brokers offer evaluations at no charge or obligation, during which they evaluate your business and provide an opinion of its value. They will also identify any obstacles to successfully selling your business as well as opportunities for growth that could help raise the price tag.