Questions answered
- Am I personally ready?
- Is the business too dependent on me?
- Which prerequisites should be fixed?
The real decision
The question is not “can I find a buyer?” It is whether you are ready to start a process that may take months, expose sensitive evidence, surface unresolved issues and change your own role.
This playbook helps select one of three states: START PREPARATION, PREPARE BEFORE MARKET, or DEFER AND FIX A PREREQUISITE. These are not valuation scores or recommendations to sell.
Test 1 : Are you personally ready?
Write down why now, what comes next for you, minimum liquidity objectives, transition role, non-negotiables and which family stakeholders must be consulted. Readiness means the decision makes sense without assuming a particular valuation.
Test 2 : Can the business operate without you?
Map customer, supplier, bank, pricing, recruitment, operations, know-how and authority dependencies. Name a second owner and documentary evidence for each. Founder dependency can be managed; hidden dependency cannot.
Test 3 : Can the numbers be explained?
A serious buyer will ask for more than headline accounts: management information, debt, cash, working capital, CAPEX, unusual items and a bridge to normalized earnings. The test is provenance, not volume of spreadsheets.
Test 4 : Do the critical documents exist?
Review ownership/capital, key contracts, people, tax/social, assets, licences, disputes, insurance, IP and permissions. Mark each READY, GAP, CONTRADICTORY, PRO_REVIEW.
Test 5 : Are you ready to negotiate more than price?
Offers also include timetable, financing, conditions, protections, governance and perhaps your future role. Define what matters before offers arrive.
Seller decision sheet
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