Is Your Business Saleable?
If someone approached you tomorrow with a genuine offer, could your business be sold smoothly and at full value?
Asking this question doesn’t mean you intend to sell. It means you are running your business wisely. Sale readiness is fundamental to any exit strategy and is simply good governance for business owners and CEOs.
To benchmark your business, ask yourself these seven questions.
1. Do you have a clearly defined vision, mission and plan?
Can you clearly articulate your mission, values, and strategic direction? Buyers look for businesses with clarity of purpose because it shows success is driven by structure and intent, not luck.
2. Are your financials clean, current, and credible?
Do you have up-to-date financial statements, compliant with New Zealand standards, that clearly demonstrate profitability and cashflow? Buyers pay for confidence, and confidence starts with numbers they can trust.
3. Have you built a strong and recognisable brand?
Does your business have a reputation that customers recognise and value? A strong brand reduces buyer risk and increases goodwill, which directly impacts sale price.
4. Do you have an effective digital and marketing presence?
Can customers easily find, understand, and trust your business online? A quality website and active digital presence signal relevance, scalability, and modern business practices.
5. Have you documented your systems and processes?
Could someone else step in and run the business using documented procedures? Businesses that rely on “owner knowledge” are harder to sell and less valuable.
6. Can you demonstrate sustainable profitability and growth?
Is your business performing well now, with a credible plan for future growth? Buyers are attracted to businesses that are stable, profitable, and improving. Not those in decline.
7. Can the business operate without you?
Could you step away for several weeks and have the business continue to run well? Reduced owner reliance is one of the biggest drivers of business value.
Final thought
Being sale-ready does not mean selling. It means choice. Choice creates leverage, confidence, and value.
If you’d like to sanity-check where your business sits against these questions, let’s chat. No pressure, just a practical conversation.