Sell your small business and actually get paid
The books are cleaned and every add-back documented, a defensible SDE-based valuation is established, the business is marketed confidentially, buyers are qualified, an LOI is negotiated on structure rather than headline price, diligence is survived, and the deal closes with escrow, earnout, seller-note, and non-compete terms you can live with.
Free preview: 4 of 25 steps
Work through them in the real run view, exactly as a buyer does. No account, no payment, nothing saved.
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- Your own copy — keep it forever
- Gets better over time — free updates included
- Run it on web and mobile
- Invite a partner to go through it with you — you share the same progress
- Make it your own — a private copy you can edit to fit your situation
- The playbook's community — ask questions, get additions, and see how other buyers improve it, right on the step
Who it's for
Owners of US businesses with roughly $200k–$5m in annual revenue who plan to exit in the next 6–24 months and have never sold a business before. Best for profitable, owner-run companies with at least three years of filed returns. Not for distressed sales, businesses that need a turnaround first, or owners unwilling to spend months preparing the books.
About this playbook
This playbook takes you from maybe I should sell to cash in the bank, without handing the deal to a broker who takes 8–12% of the price. You will clean the books until a buyer's accountant can verify them, recast your financials with documented add-backs, establish a defensible SDE-based valuation, and market the business confidentially. Then you qualify buyers, negotiate a letter of intent on structure rather than headline price, survive due diligence, and close with escrow, earnout, and seller-note terms you can live with. It covers the difference between asset and stock sales and its tax consequences, including a state-specific check of your own state's rules. It does not cover distressed fire sales, businesses that need a turnaround first, or finding you a buyer — the outreach list is yours to build.
What you'll do, step by stepFree preview
Only a sample is open: 4 of 25 steps can be read in full. The rest unlock when you buy.
Phase 1: Clean up the books a buyer can verify
5 stepsPhase 2: Value the business and set the deal terms
5 stepsPhase 3: Market the business confidentially
5 stepsPhase 4: Qualify buyers and negotiate the LOI
5 stepsPhase 5: Survive diligence and close
5 steps
Details
What you need first
Three years of filed tax returns and financial statements you can access, operational control of the business, a company that is profitable before owner compensation, and a budget for a CPA and a deal attorney. You must be able to keep running the business while you prepare — the work overlaps with day-to-day operations for months.
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