Many owners tell me, kindly, that this does not apply to them. They are not selling. Perhaps one of the children will take over. Perhaps they will simply keep going.
I understand. And I would still ask them to prepare as if a buyer were coming.
Preparation is not a decision to sell
Preparing a business for sale means building the things a buyer pays for: managers who decide without you, financials you trust, a spread of customers, and systems that do not depend on memory. None of that commits you to anything. It simply makes the business stronger.
It gives you your time back
An owner whose business runs without them can take a month away. Can work three days a week. Can think about the next ten years instead of the next ten days. For many owners, that alone is worth the work.
It protects the people you care about
If something happens to you unexpectedly, a business that depends on you becomes a problem your family has to solve, often quickly and under pressure. A prepared business can be run, or sold, by someone else. That is a gift to the people you leave it to.
It keeps your options open
A buyer may call next year with a serious offer. A partner may want out. Your health may change your plans. Owners who have prepared can answer from strength. Owners who have not are negotiating from urgency, and buyers can tell.
The best time to prepare is when you do not need to.
Some of the owners we work with decide, at the end of it, not to sell at all. They own a better business than the one they started with. That is a good outcome too.