If you dream of either selling your company in a few years’ time or simply stepping back without everything grinding to a halt, the work starts today. Research shows that just 20–30 per cent of small businesses that go to market actually complete a sale – most fall over because they’re too owner-reliant or poorly systematised. (score.org)
Below is a practical, UK-focused roadmap you can follow over the next 2–5 years to prepare your business for sale, increase business value, improve business valuation and reduce owner dependency.
1. Get your financials investor-ready
-
Clean, accrual-based accounts for the last three years – buyers and lenders want apples-to-apples numbers, not hybrid spreadsheets stitched together at year-end.
-
Separate personal expenditure and one-off “lifestyle” costs now, so historic EBITDA tells the true story.
-
Build dashboards that track gross margin, recurring revenue and cash conversion cycle monthly. (HubSpot’s free Ops Hub can automate this pull-through from Xero or QuickBooks.)
-
Forecast forward: a credible, evidence-backed three-year plan is worth more than a hopeful hockey stick.
2. Document & systematise every core process
A buyer is paying for a money-making machine, not for the privilege of learning everything in your head.
-
Map your customer journey – from first click to renewal – and write Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for each hand-off.
-
Choose one tech stack (e.g. HubSpot CRM + automated workflows) and make it the single source of truth.
-
Record how-to videos for recurring tasks; store them in a shared Wiki.
-
Review and tighten the SOPs every quarter.
Well-documented processes reduce perceived risk and can nudge multiples up by a full turn when valuers run their discounted-cash-flow models.
3. Remove yourself from day-to-day operations
-
Delegate revenue-critical activities (quoting, customer success, key supplier relationships) to team members, supported by the SOPs you wrote in Step 2.
-
Install a leadership rhythm – weekly KPI huddles, monthly management meetings, and a rolling 90-day OKR cycle.
-
Take a two-week “practice holiday” each year; you should return to a business that has grown during your absence.
4. Optimise (and diversify) your revenue streams
Buyers pay more for businesses with recurring, predictable cash-flow.
-
Convert ad-hoc services into packaged retainers or subscriptions.
-
Concentration risk? No single client should represent more than 15 % of turnover.
-
Introduce tiered pricing and annual-upfront incentives to boost free cash flow.
5. Tidy up your legal & intellectual-property house
-
Written employment contracts, supplier agreements and up-to-date Ts & Cs reduce due-diligence headaches.
-
Register trademarks, secure source-code repos and ensure you hold assignment of any contractor IP.
-
Keep a digital data-room (Dropbox/Google Drive) mirroring your legal binder, ready for buyer access.
6. Benchmark early with an exit-planning consultant or broker
Engage a UK-qualified exit planning consultant 24–36 months out. They will:
-
Provide an independent valuation today.
-
Highlight “value gaps” (customer concentration, weak gross margin, over-dependency on you).
-
Advise on deal structures (share vs asset sale, earn-out mechanics) and tax planning (Entrepreneurs’ Relief, EOTs etc.).
Regular re-valuations show whether your preparation is improving the business valuation year-on-year.
7. Keep the growth story alive until completion
Buyers love momentum. Continue to:
-
Publish thought-leadership content and case studies (Inbound methodology still wins hearts and multiples).
-
Track Net Promoter Score (NPS) and showcase your happiest customers – they become priceless references in due-diligence calls.
-
Invest in staff development; a low-churn, engaged team reassures acquirers that the post-sale transition will stick.
Your two-minute action plan for this week
-
Block a half-day in your diary to sketch your current systems map and identify the biggest single owner-dependency.
-
Draft the first SOP for that task and assign it to a team member.
-
Book a discovery call with an exit-planning adviser to benchmark where you stand.
The cumulative effect of these small steps – taken consistently over the next few years – will systematise your business for exit, protect its value and give you the freedom to choose when (and if) you sell.
Thinking of getting started? At Inbound Orbit we specialise in designing RevOps-driven systems that turn chaotic workflows into buyer-ready engines. Let’s chat about your runway to exit.
