Selling a business is hard. Selling a small business is even harder. But not impossible. And, lucky for you I happen to know how to sell them. Today, I’m going to give you my top tips and tricks for selling your small business by improving your valuation.

1. One thing I’m going to harp on before we dive in is seller’s discretionary earnings, or SDE. Consider the potential buyers for your business. Chances are, most business buyers will either want mailbox money or want to be an owner/ operator. With smaller businesses, the owner/ operator buyer candidate tends to be a corporate refugee. Picture this: someone that’s tired of the 9-5, makes great money and receives full benefits but just wants to be in charge of their own growth. These refugees will not purchase smaller companies that pay the owner/ operator less SDE per year than their current salaries to work more hours. If you wouldn’t take the same deal, why would they? So we have to make your business attractive to these refugees seeking freedom from their corporate bonds.

​2. Focus on your business’ profitability. A small business with remarkable profit margins will be instantly more attractive to any potential buyers. (One way to increase profits by thinking outside of the box is by acquiring another company instead of growing organically. I know this isn’t the least expensive way to increase profits BUT it will increase the size of your company, grow your profits, and make your business that much more appealing to potential buyers. Win, win, win.)

3. Make as many things as possible automated. The less a prospective buyer has to do to manage the day-to-day, the more attractive your business. Please don’t be that business owner that has ten different email accounts all on an outside server to handle the daily running of your company. Please don’t be that business owner that has some quirky way to remember when to pay their business license. Please automate as much as possible and (extra credit opportunity!) keep a record of EVERYTHING. Put yourself in the buyer’s shoes: the former owner hands you a an operations manual detailing how to run the whole business. Sounds pretty great, right?

4. Work in the business as little as possible. Many potential buyers will not want an investment that takes the bulk of their time. If the business does not need your constant attention, chances are that it won’t need a buyer’s either. Find ways to slowly step away from the daily grind of managing the operations and automate them OR designate them to employees. 

5. And, my #1 piece of advice: have accurate, professionally done books that cover your last 3 - 5 years in business. I can’t stress the importance of this one enough and if you don’t take any other pieces of my advice, please just take this one. A buyer needs to know what they’re buying. They need to know how you’ve run the business and where they can expect the business to go when they take over. And you know what accomplishes this? A history of professionally done books for the last 3 - 5 years. I promise, your investment will be repaid in spades.
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We’ve covered my top pieces of advice to make your small business more attractive to buyers by improving your valuation but maybe you need just a bit of one-on-one coaching. Because I want you to succeed and I want your business to sell for as much money as possible, I’m more than happy to talk to you. Seriously. Click here to book a FREE call with me today so we can talk about how I can best help you and how we can get your business sold!

​Recently, yours truly was recognized by the International Business Brokers Association (IBBA) with an Outstanding Producer Award for outstanding performance in 2020. I’m sure you’re thinking: cool, so what does that mean to me? So glad you asked!

“Business Brokers support the health of small businesses and communities worldwide, and
these award recipients are among our industry’s best,” stated IBBA Executive Director, Kylene
Golubski. “2020 presented many unique challenges, yet these individuals rose to the occasion
and delivered impressive results.”

So now that you know I’m actually worth my salt, maybe you’re considering working with me. Below, I’m doing something I rarely do and opening up a bit more about myself and my business so you can get to know me. Still want more? Click here to book a FREE consultation with me!

One of the questions I’m most often asked is how long will it take my business to sell? Trust me: I wish I had a magic crystal ball that could tell you. 

Unfortunately, I don’t have a crystal ball and there’s not a simple answer to that question because you have to take so many things into consideration. 

So let’s break down a few common questions to determine just how long it will take to sell your business.

Perhaps you’re just beginning to think about selling your business. If that’s the case, you’ve most likely heard rumblings about needing an exit plan coach to guide you through the process. An exit plan coach helps you get the most out of selling your business and holds your hand through the entire process of getting your business ready to sell and then actually closing the deal. 

So why should you work with an exit plan coach?

Your business is more likely to sell. 

Less than 13% of all small businesses are successfully transacted to a new owner. Working with an experienced exit plan coach ensures you have a knowledgeable partner guiding you through the common pitfalls of selling your business. An exit plan coach helps prepare your business for sale, helps negotiate the transaction, and overall guides you through the complex process of selling a business.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE April 14, 2021

Kerrville, TX -- The international Business Brokers Association (IBBA) is pleased to announce that Katie Milton Jordan of Texas Business Buyers has earned the prestigious Certified Business Intermediary (CBI) designation. The CBI, which represents the gold standard in the business brokerage industry, is ghranted to individuals who complete required course work, pass an extensive competency exam, and agree to uphold the IBBA's Professional Standards and Code of Ethics.