You've built something. Years of hard work, late nights, tough decisions. Now you're thinking about selling. Maybe you're ready to retire. Maybe you want to do something new. Maybe you just want to cash out while the business is strong. Whatever your reason, here's the truth: Most business sales fail because owners wait too long, show messy books, or go it alone. You don't have to be one of them. There are three pillars that separate successful exits from disappointing ones. Get these right, and you'll walk away with the number you want. Get them wrong, and you'll leave money on the table, or worse, never sell at all. Let's break them down. Pillar 1: Timing and Preparation The best time to prepare for your exit is five years before you want to sell. That's not a typo. Most owners start thinking about selling when they're burned out or when the market shifts. By then, it's too late to fix the things that make your business valuable. Start early. Plan ahead. Here's what preparation looks like: Build Systems That Run Without You Buyers don't want to buy you. They want to buy a business. If you're the one answering every email, closing every deal, and solving every problem, your business isn't sellable. It's a job that depends on you showing up every day. Start delegating. Document processes. Train your team to handle what you handle. The goal is simple: your business should run smoothly when you're on vacation. Grow Revenue and Profit Consistently Buyers look at trends, not snapshots. One great year followed by two mediocre ones raises red flags. It looks like luck, not momentum. You want three to five years of steady growth. It tells buyers your business isn't a flash in the pan, it's a machine that keeps producing. Clean Up Loose Ends Walk through your business like a buyer would. Are there unresolved legal issues? Equipment that needs replacing? Key employees without contracts? Customer concentration problems where one client makes up 40% of your revenue? Fix these now. Buyers will find them during due diligence, and they'll either walk away or use them to negotiate your price down. Preparation isn't glamorous. But it's the difference between a clean sale and a stressful nightmare. Pillar 2: Clean, Accurate Financials Your financials tell the story of your business. If the story is confusing, incomplete, or hard to follow, buyers won't stick around to figure it out. Here's what you need: Three Years of Clean Books Buyers want to see profit and loss statements, balance sheets, and cash flow reports for at least three years. And they need to be accurate. Not "close enough." Not "we think this is right." If your bookkeeping is a mess, hire someone to clean it up. Yesterday. Tax Returns That Match Your Books This one trips up a lot of owners. You might run personal expenses through the business to reduce your tax bill. That's fine, but it complicates the sale. Buyers need to see what the business actually earns. You'll need to create an "adjusted EBITDA" that adds back personal expenses, one-time costs, and owner perks. If your tax returns and your books tell two different stories, expect buyers to get nervous. Recurring Revenue Is Gold Buyers love predictability. If you have contracts, subscriptions, or repeat customers who come back month after month, highlight it. Recurring revenue makes your business less risky and more valuable. If you don't have recurring revenue, build it. Even small predictable income streams can boost your valuation. Bottom line: clean financials aren't optional. They're the foundation of trust between you and a buyer. Pillar 3: The Right Advisory Team You wouldn't perform surgery on yourself. Don't try to sell your business alone. Selling a business is complicated. There are legal issues, tax implications, buyer negotiations, due diligence, and a hundred moving parts you've never dealt with before. You need a team. Business Broker or M&A Advisor A good broker does more than list your business. They know how to position it, market it to qualified buyers, and negotiate on your behalf. They've been through dozens of deals, and they know where things can go wrong. Yes, they cost money. But they'll more than pay for themselves by getting you a higher price and keeping the deal from falling apart halfway through. Accountant or CPA Your accountant helps you understand the tax impact of the sale. Different deal structures have different tax consequences. Selling assets versus selling stock. Earnouts versus lump sums. Your accountant helps you keep more of what you earn. Attorney You need a lawyer who specializes in business transactions. They review the purchase agreement, protect you from liability after the sale, and make sure you're not agreeing to something that comes back to bite you later. Don't use your cousin who does real estate law. This is too important. Valuation Expert Before you list your business, you need to know what it's worth. Not what you think it's worth. What the market will actually pay. A professional valuation gives you a realistic number to work from and helps you set the right asking price. Your team protects you, guides you, and maximizes your outcome. Don't skip this step. Pulling It All Together Let's recap. Pillar 1: Timing and Preparation. Start early, build systems, grow consistently, and fix problems before buyers see them. Pillar 2: Clean Financials. Get your books in order, make sure your tax returns match, and highlight recurring revenue. Pillar 3: The Right Team. Hire a broker, accountant, attorney, and valuation expert who know what they're doing. These three pillars aren't magic. They're just the fundamentals that separate owners who sell successfully from owners who regret waiting too long. You've spent years building your business. Don't waste that effort by winging the exit. Ready to Start Planning Your Exit? At Vision Fox Business Advisors, we help business owners prepare for and execute successful exits. Whether you're thinking about selling in the next

You're running your business every single day. You know the operations inside and out. You make the decisions. You handle the problems. But here's the thing: being that close to your business means you can't see everything. You've got blind spots. Every business owner does. And those blind spots? They're costing you growth, revenue, and probably sleep. What Exactly Is a Blind Spot? A blind spot isn't something you're ignoring on purpose. It's something your brain literally doesn't register. You can't see it because you're standing too close. Your perspective is limited by your position inside the operation. Maybe it's a hiring process that drives away top talent. Or a pricing strategy that's leaving money on the table. Or a team dynamic that's quietly killing morale. You don't notice it because it's always been there. It's part of your normal. But to someone looking from the outside? It's obvious. Why You Can't Spot Your Own Blind Spots Your brain is wired to see patterns and create shortcuts. That's great for efficiency. Not so great for catching problems you've never noticed before. You're also dealing with what psychologists call unconscious bias. Your past experiences, your assumptions, your habits: they all shape what you notice and what you overlook. When you're inside the business, you're subject to: Authority bias: Your team won't always tell you the hard truths Confirmation bias: You see evidence that supports what you already believe Familiarity bias: What's normal to you might be broken to everyone else You need someone from the outside. Someone who doesn't carry those biases. Someone whose job is to see what you can't. How a Business Coach Spots Blind Spots (and Fixes Them) You don't need more opinions. You need trusted outside perspective. Think of a great coach like your own board of directors. Not the formal kind with quarterly meetings. The practical kind. The kind that helps you see what you can’t. Then work through it. Your “board” hears what you won’t hear Your team sees problems early. But they won’t always say it to your face. A coach can pull the truth out through confidential conversations. No politics. No fear. That’s how issues finally surface. Your “board” sees patterns you’ve normalized Same meetings. Same fire drills. After a while, broken feels normal. A coach watches how decisions get made. Who owns what. Where follow-through dies. They’re not guessing. They’re observing. Your “board” asks the question you keep stepping around A coach will ask what everyone else avoids: What are you tolerating that’s dragging the business down? Where are you the bottleneck? What would change if you stopped doing that one thing? It’s uncomfortable. It’s also where growth lives. Your “board” keeps you accountable when life gets busy Most owners don’t fail from lack of ideas. They fail from lack of follow-through. A coach keeps the plan simple. Then keeps it moving. That’s the difference between awareness and results. When You Ignore Blind Spots, You Pay for Them Blind spots don’t sit still. They get expensive. Good people leave Margins shrink Customers drift You get stuck in the weeds By the time it’s obvious, it’s harder to fix. Ready to See What You’re Missing? You can’t outwork what you can’t see. A trusted coach gives you that “board of directors” perspective. Clear eyes. Clear plan. Real accountability. At Vision Fox Business Advisors, we help owners uncover blind spots, build a growth plan, and increase business value—whether you’re scaling now or preparing for an eventual exit. Learn more about our growth support here: https://visionfox.com/business-growth/ Reach out to Vision Fox today to start seeing your business more clearly. Ready to See What You're Missing? You can't grow past problems you can't see. A business coach gives you the outside perspective you need to identify what's holding you back: and the structured plan to fix it. At Vision Fox Business Advisors, we help business owners uncover blind spots, build stronger operations, and position their businesses for growth. Whether you're looking to scale or preparing for an eventual exit, addressing these gaps now makes everything easier down the road. Reach out to Vision Fox today to start seeing your business more clearly. FAQ How is a coach different from a consultant? A consultant usually solves a specific problem. A coach helps you see patterns, make better calls, and follow through week after week. Think guidance plus accountability. How fast do blind spots show up? Often in the first few conversations. The bigger win is building a cadence that keeps them from coming back.

You set a goal. You worked toward it. And somehow, you're still spinning your wheels. Here's a question most business owners never ask: What if the problem isn't your effort, it's the goal itself? What if your goal is too small to inspire you to actually take action? It sounds backward. Most advice tells you to be realistic. Set achievable targets. Don't bite off more than you can chew. But small goals create small energy. And small energy rarely moves the needle. The Problem with "Realistic" Goals You've heard it a thousand times: set SMART goals. Specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, time-bound. And yeah, there's value in that framework. But here's what nobody tells you. Achievable goals often aren't exciting. They're safe. They're easy to justify. And they're really easy to ignore when things get busy. Think about it. When was the last time you got fired up about hitting a 3% growth target? Or motivated your team by saying, "Let's aim for slightly better than last year"? You didn't. Because nobody gets out of bed for slightly better. Big Goals Create Big Energy Here's what I've seen work time and time again with business owners. When you set a goal that actually excites you, something big enough to feel a little scary, your brain shifts gears. Suddenly, you're not thinking about incremental tweaks. You're thinking about what needs to fundamentally change to make that goal possible. Big goals force you to think differently. They make you ask better questions: What systems need to be in place? Who do I need on my team? What am I doing now that I need to stop? What skills do I need to develop? Small goals let you stay comfortable. Big goals demand transformation. And transformation is where real growth happens. Why Small Goals Keep You Stuck Let me give you a real example. I worked with a business owner who set a goal to increase revenue by $50K over the next year. Reasonable, right? Achievable. Safe. But here's what happened. Nothing changed. He kept doing the same things. Same marketing. Same sales process. Same team structure. Because $50K didn't require him to change anything. He could hit that target by just working a little harder or getting a little lucky. The goal was too small to force a breakthrough. When we reset his goal to $500K in new revenue, everything shifted. Suddenly, he needed a sales team. He needed better systems. He needed to stop doing $20-an-hour work and start focusing on strategy. The bigger goal forced better decisions. And those decisions drove real action. What Big Goals Actually Do Big goals don't just motivate you, they restructure how you operate. Here's what happens when you set a goal that actually inspires you: You become more intentional with your time. When you're working toward something significant, every hour matters. You stop wasting time on low-value tasks because you can't afford to. You build the systems you've been avoiding. You finally hire that assistant. You document your processes. You delegate the work you've been clutching onto for years. You become more disciplined. Big goals demand consistency. You can't coast your way to a 10X result. So you show up differently, every single day. You start thinking like the person who's already achieved the goal. This is the real shift. When you pursue something ambitious, you have to grow into the version of yourself who can achieve it. And that growth? That's the point. The Team Amplification Effect Here's something most owners miss: big goals don't just energize you, they energize your team. Your team knows when you're playing small. They feel it. When you set a goal that's big enough to matter, your team leans in. They want to be part of something meaningful. People don't get excited about maintaining the status quo. They get excited about building something bigger. About being part of a win that actually feels like a win. If you're struggling to get your team engaged, look at your goals. Are they big enough to inspire action? Or are they just… fine? How to Set Goals That Actually Drive Action So how do you do this without setting yourself up for failure? Start by asking yourself: What would I pursue if I knew I couldn't fail? Not "what's realistic." Not "what feels safe." What would genuinely excite you? Then work backward. What would need to be true for that goal to happen? What resources would you need? What skills would you need to develop? What would you need to stop doing? Who would you need to become? Write it down. Make it specific. Instead of "grow the business," say "hit $5M in revenue by end of 2027." Instead of "improve margins," say "increase net profit to 25% within 18 months." Give yourself a target that makes your heart beat a little faster. Then break it into milestones. You don't need to know every step. You just need to know the next one. And then take it. When You Need an Outside Perspective Here's the thing about big goals: they require you to see yourself and your business differently. And that's hard to do alone. You can't read the label from inside the bottle. Sometimes, the most valuable thing you can do is work with someone who can see what you can't: someone who can help you identify the goals worth chasing and the path to get there. That's where coaching comes in. Not to tell you what to do. But to help you see what's possible. To push you past the "realistic" goals that keep you stuck. To hold you accountable when the work gets hard. Because big goals aren't just about what you achieve. They're about who you become in the process. And that's the transformation that changes everything. Your Move So here's the question to sit with this week: Are your goals big enough to drive real action? If you're stuck, frustrated, or watching your team coast,

You run a landscaping company. Or a manufacturing facility. Maybe it's an HVAC business you've built over thirty years. You're not in tech. You're not selling software. So why does everyone keep talking about AI like it matters to your exit? Because in 2026, buyers aren't just evaluating your revenue and customer base anymore. They're evaluating whether your business can scale without you: and whether it's built to compete in the next decade. That's where AI comes in. Even if you've never touched a chatbot. Why Modern Buyers Care About AI (Even in "Traditional" Businesses) Let's be clear: buyers in 2026 aren't looking for robots running your shop floor. They're looking for efficiency. Data. Systems that work without constant manual oversight. Here's what they actually want to see: Can your business track customer trends and respond quickly? Are routine tasks automated, or does everything require human hours? Do you have clean, accessible data that shows where money comes from and where it goes? Can the next owner step in without rebuilding your entire operation from scratch? These aren't "tech company" questions anymore. They're baseline expectations. A landscaping business that uses AI-powered scheduling software to optimize routes and reduce fuel costs? That's more attractive than one still relying on paper routes and gut feeling. A manufacturing facility with predictive maintenance systems that reduce downtime? That's worth more than one where equipment breaks unexpectedly and costs pile up. Same industry. Different readiness. Different valuation. What "AI-Ready" Actually Means for Your Business You don't need to become a tech startup to be AI-ready. You need to show buyers that your business can operate smarter, not just harder. Here's the reality: less than 20% of businesses today consider themselves "data-ready": which is the foundation for any AI adoption. And 42% of companies report that their AI-related projects fail or underperform because their data is a mess. If you're thinking about selling in the next 1-3 years, you don't need to solve everything. But you do need to address the gaps that will make buyers walk away or discount your price. Let's break it down into what actually matters. The Five Pillars Buyers Are Evaluating When a buyer looks at your business in 2026, they're not just asking "how much does it make?" They're asking "can this business keep making money without major overhauls?" Here are the five areas where AI readiness shows up: even in non-tech businesses. 1. Strategy: Are You Solving Real Problems or Just Chasing Trends? Buyers want to see that you've implemented tools and systems that solve actual business problems. Not AI for the sake of AI. Real efficiency gains. An HVAC company that uses software to track service history and predict when customers will need replacements? That's strategic. It creates recurring revenue and reduces marketing waste. A retail business that automates inventory reordering based on sales patterns? That's strategic. It prevents stockouts and overstock without adding labor. If you can show that you've built systems that increase profit or reduce costs, that's valuable: whether you call it "AI" or not. 2. Data: Can You Actually Trust Your Numbers? This is where most small and mid-sized businesses fall apart. Your financial records might be clean. But can you easily pull reports on: Customer acquisition costs? Lifetime customer value? Which products or services are actually profitable (not just revenue-generating)? Seasonal trends that affect cash flow? Buyers in 2026 expect data-driven businesses. If your answer to these questions is "I'd have to dig through spreadsheets for a week," that's a red flag. You don't need a data science team. You need organized, accessible information that tells the story of your business. 3. Infrastructure: Can Your Systems Handle Growth? Here's a question most owners don't think about: if a buyer wanted to double your revenue in two years, could your current systems handle it? Or would everything break? If you're still using software from 2015 that barely integrates with anything, that's a problem. If your customer management system is a filing cabinet and a Gmail inbox, that's a bigger problem. Modern buyers want to see that your business can scale without rebuilding the foundation. Cloud-based systems. Mobile access. Integration between your accounting, CRM, and operations tools. You don't need the fanciest tech stack. You need systems that work together and can grow with the business. 4. Governance: Do You Have Policies That Protect the Business? This one surprises people, but it's critical in 2026. Buyers want to know: how do you handle customer data? Who has access to sensitive information? What happens if an employee makes a mistake with customer records? If you've adopted any kind of automation or AI tool: even something as simple as an automated email system: you need basic policies around data security and privacy. This doesn't mean you need a legal team. It means you've thought through the risks and have simple safeguards in place. 5. People: Does Your Team Know How to Use What You've Built? Here's the thing about systems and tools: they're only valuable if people actually use them. A CRM full of outdated contact info is worse than no CRM at all. Scheduling software that your team ignores defeats the purpose. Buyers want to see that your team is trained, capable, and bought into the systems you've implemented. If you're planning to exit in the next few years, this is your checklist: Are your systems documented so someone new can understand them? Is there a key person who can train the next owner's team? Do your employees know why certain tools matter, or are they just going through the motions? This is where a lot of owners realize they've built systems around themselves: not systems that outlive them. What This Actually Means for Your Valuation Let's talk numbers. A business that runs on manual processes, tribal knowledge, and the owner's personal relationships will get valued at 2-3x EBITDA (if it even qualifies for financing). A business with clean data, efficient systems, and documented processes?

You're getting ready to sell your business. You've spent years building it. You know every customer, every product, every challenge you've overcome. But when a buyer shows up, they don't care about your stories. They care about your numbers. And specifically, they care about your Profit & Loss statement. Your P&L isn't just a financial document. When you're selling a business, it's your best marketing tool. It's the single most powerful piece of evidence that your business is worth what you're asking. Clean books tell a buyer: This business is real. This owner is organized. This deal won't blow up in due diligence. Messy books? They scream the opposite. Your P&L Is the First Thing Buyers Actually Believe You can tell a buyer your business is thriving. You can show them your vision for growth. You can talk about customer loyalty and market opportunity. None of that matters if your P&L doesn't back it up. Buyers are skeptical by nature. They've seen inflated promises before. They've been burned by owners who "rounded up" their revenue or forgot to mention certain expenses. Your P&L is the proof. It shows them exactly what comes in and what goes out. It tells them whether your business is profitable, sustainable, and worth their investment. If your P&L is clean, clear, and organized, you've just done half the selling for yourself. If it's a mess? You're starting from a position of doubt. What "Clean Books" Actually Means Let's be clear about what we're talking about here. Clean books don't mean perfect books. They mean accurate, organized, and explainable. Here's what buyers want to see: Consistent categorization – Expenses are in the right buckets every time Owner compensation separated – They need to see what the business earns vs. what you take home Personal expenses removed – Your car lease and family cell phone plan don't belong on the business P&L Add-backs documented – One-time costs or discretionary spending clearly identified No surprises – Revenue and expenses match your tax returns and bank statements If a buyer opens your financials and has to guess what a line item means, you've already lost credibility. Clean books are confident books. They show you know what's happening in your business: and that you're not hiding anything. Messy Financials Kill Deals (Or Tank Your Price) I've seen it happen more times than I can count. An owner walks in with a strong business. Good revenue. Solid margins. Great reputation. Then we look at the books. Revenue is lumped into one category. Expenses are all over the place. Personal and business spending are mixed together. Tax returns don't match the P&L. The owner shrugs and says, "My accountant knows what it all means." Here's the problem: Your accountant isn't buying your business. When buyers see messy financials, they assume one of three things: You don't actually know your numbers You're trying to hide something This deal is going to be a headache All three kill your leverage. Even if your business is genuinely profitable, a buyer will discount your asking price just to account for the risk of unraveling your books. Or worse: they'll walk away entirely. How Clean Books Boost Your Business Valuation Here's where it gets interesting. Clean financials don't just make buyers feel comfortable. They actually increase what your business is worth. When your P&L is clear and organized, buyers can see the real profitability of your business. They can calculate a business valuation with confidence. More confidence = higher offers. Buyers pay more when they trust the numbers. They're not building in a discount for uncertainty. They're not holding back cash in escrow to cover potential surprises. They're making their best offer: because they believe your business is exactly what you say it is. Add-backs make an even bigger difference here. If you've been running personal expenses through the business or paying yourself below market rate, those add-backs can significantly increase your adjusted EBITDA (Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation, and Amortization). But only if they're documented correctly. A buyer needs to see: What the expense was Why it won't continue under new ownership Proof that it actually happened If you just scribble "Add back $50K in owner perks" on a napkin, no one's buying it. Clean documentation = legitimate add-backs = higher valuation. What We Do to Help You Clean Up Your Books At Vision Fox Business Advisors, we see plenty of businesses with solid fundamentals but chaotic financials. The good news? This is fixable. Before we ever take your business to market, we help you clean things up. Here's how: Review your last three years of financials – We look at your P&L, balance sheet, and tax returns to see what buyers will see Identify issues that hurt your valuation – Mixed expenses, inconsistent categories, missing documentation Work with you (and your accountant) to reorganize – We don't redo your books, but we help structure them in a way that makes sense to buyers Document add-backs clearly – We make sure every dollar you claim as discretionary or one-time is defensible Prepare a clean, buyer-ready financial package – One that tells your business's story without confusion This process doesn't take months. But it makes a massive difference in how buyers perceive your business: and how much they're willing to pay. Your P&L Tells a Story. Make It a Good One. Think of your P&L as your business's resume. You wouldn't send a resume with typos, random fonts, and gaps in employment to a hiring manager. So why would you hand a messy P&L to someone considering a six- or seven-figure investment in your business? Your financials should tell a clear story: This business makes money consistently The owner knows what's happening at every level There are no hidden landmines When your P&L tells that story, buyers stop questioning and start negotiating. Florida Business Owners: Start Early If you're a business owner in Florida thinking about an exit in the next 12-24 months, now is the