Joel Adam SmithThe buyer's-eye view
A buyer is not really buying last year's profit. They are buying their confidence that the same profit turns up next year without you in it. Everything they ask is a way of testing that.
These are the eight areas they grade, usually long before anyone mentions price. None of them are hard to improve. They are just hard to improve quickly, which is why it pays to look early.
Area 1
How much runs through you
What a buyer reads: Whether the business is a business or a job with staff. Buyers look at who holds the client relationships and who makes the calls.
A strong answer: You could be away for a month and the work, the invoices and the client questions would all still be handled.
Area 2
The quality of the revenue
What a buyer reads: Not the size of it. Buyers pay far more for revenue that repeats than revenue that has to be won again every year.
A strong answer: A solid base of recurring or contracted work, with clients who have been there for years.
Area 3
Who your revenue comes from
What a buyer reads: How much of the business sits with one client, one referrer or one industry. Concentration is the fastest way to lose value.
A strong answer: No single client much above ten percent, and more than one way that new work arrives.
Area 4
The team behind you
What a buyer reads: Whether the people who do the work will still be there in twelve months, and whether anyone other than you can lead them.
A strong answer: A second in charge, low turnover, and roles that do not depend on one irreplaceable person.
Area 5
How the work gets done
What a buyer reads: Whether your way of working exists outside your head. Documented process is what lets a buyer imagine owning it.
A strong answer: Consistent systems, written procedures for the important things, and data that lives in the business.
Area 6
The financial picture
What a buyer reads: How clean and believable the numbers are. Messy books do not just cost time, they cost trust and price.
A strong answer: Tidy accounts, clear separation of personal and business, and add backs you can actually evidence.
Area 7
Where it goes next
What a buyer reads: Whether there is a credible path to growth that the buyer could pick up, not just a story about potential.
A strong answer: A pipeline, a market that is not shrinking, and one or two obvious moves left on the table.
Area 8
How ready the handover is
What a buyer reads: What happens in the first ninety days. This is the area most owners have thought about least and buyers think about most.
A strong answer: A realistic transition plan, clients who have met someone other than you, and a sensible view on how long you would stay.
Check where you actually stand
The tools below turn these eight areas into a score, a list of likely buyer questions and a short set of priorities. They are free, private and take a few minutes each.
Start with a quiet conversation
No listing pressure and nothing public. We look at what would need to hold together for a buyer to believe the business keeps working after you leave.
- Where the business still depends on you or one key person
- Which customers a buyer would worry about
- What your team would need to hear, and when
- What is worth sorting in the next six to twelve months
I reply personally. Nothing is said to staff, customers, or the market until you decide it is time.
This is an indicative guide built from the answers you gave. It is not a formal valuation, and it is not financial, legal or tax advice. Every business sells on its own facts.