What You’d Fix If You Were Buying Your Own Business
Built to Last: Creating value that carries your business forward
Imagine walking into your business as if you were a prospective buyer seeing it for the first time. Would you be impressed by what you see, or would a list of concerns immediately pop into your head? Taking a step back and looking at your company through a buyer’s eyes can reveal exactly what needs fixing to increase its value and ensure it’s built to last. It’s an exercise that not only helps if you plan to sell someday, but also if you’re in it for the long haul. After all, the things a buyer values are the same things that make a business strong and sustainable.
Think Like a Buyer for a Fresh Perspective
Owners pour their heart and soul into their businesses, so it’s easy to become blind to certain weaknesses. In fact, many entrepreneurs overestimate their company’s strengths and underestimate its weaknesses from an objective standpoint. A potential buyer, however, will examine everything with a critical eye, focusing on how the business can deliver a return on investment and in what timeframe.
If you’ve never bought a business yourself, this “buyer mindset” might feel unfamiliar. But it’s worth cultivating. It helps you see your business’s value the way an outsider would, and it highlights the “value drivers” that could make your company more appealing. These value drivers might include a more efficient sales process, stronger marketing, a better organizational structure, or a solid management team in place. By thinking like a buyer, you can identify which areas a diligent outsider would flag and proactively address them before they become deal-breakers.
Tackle the Obvious Fixes First
When preparing a house for sale, you’d patch the cracks and give it a fresh coat of paint. The same goes for your business. Do everything possible to make the business as attractive as possible from the outset. That means cleaning up the physical workspace, resolving glaring issues, and tidying up anything that might give a bad impression.
Is your office cluttered or outdated? Give a thorough cleanup and maybe a facelift. If there are any nagging problems you’ve been putting off (unhappy employee situations, unpaid taxes, sloppy record-keeping), take care of them now. Small issues that you’ve learned to live with could be big red flags to a potential buyer. By fixing these obvious problems, you not only boost the “curb appeal” of your business but also signal that it’s well cared-for and professionally run.
Get Your Financial House in Order
On of the first things any buyer will scrutinize is your financial performance and records. You can save everyone a lot of headaches by getting your financial house in order well before any sale is on the horizon. Start by keeping your financial records up to date and your business history well-documented. Clean, organized books build confidence; if your accounting is a mess or full of “adjustments”, buyers may question what you’re hiding. Ensure that you can produce at least the last three years of financial statements, along with tax returns, and be ready to explain any oddities or year-to-year changes. It’s all about transparency and trust. There’s no faster way to scare off a buyer than to appear deceptive or disorganized with your numbers.
Next, take a hard look at your profitability and cash flow. Are there expenses that could be trimmed or debts that should be paid down? A buyer will be examining your revenue and profit trends, profit margins, and cash flow to assess the health of the business. They’ll also consider how much of your income is recurring or reliable versus one-time, and whether profits are trending up. If you find areas where profitability can be improved (for example, by dropping a low-margin product or adjusting pricing), making those changes can increase the value of your business in advance. In short, treat your financial records and performance as if you were going to present them to a skeptical investor, because in effect, you are.
Systematize and Professionalize Your Operations
Buyers tend to pay a premium for businesses that are “turn-key.” In other words, companies with solid systems that can run smoothly without everything depending on the owner’s constant oversight. To make your business more turn-key (and to make your own life easier), start documenting your processes and formalizing how things are done. Make sure your important contracts, policies, and procedures are documented and up to date. If you have been operating with informal or unwritten rules now’s the time to put things in writing. This not only helps a potential new owner but also ensures consistency and clarity for your current team.
Additionally, assess your operations for any inefficiencies or bottlenecks. Are you still doing things manually that could be automated or streamlined? Perhaps investing in updated technology or software could improve productivity. Think about reducing downtime and operational risks as well. For instance, if you have equipment that frequently breaks down, consider repairing or replacing it so a buyer isn’t scared off by looming maintenance issues. The goal is to show that the business runs like a well-oiled machine. A professionally run business, with organized systems, up-to-date records, and smooth processes, not only appeals to buyers but makes day-to-day operations more sustainable for you as an owner.
Strengthen Your Team and Reduce Owner Dependance
Many small businesses are heavily reliant on their founders or a few key people. If you’re essential to every decision or hold all the key client relationships, a buyer will wonder what will happen if you step away. In fact, over-dependance on the owner jeopardizes a buyer’s ability to sustain the business’s success. To fix this, work on building a strong management team and delegating critical roles so the company isn’t a one-person show.
Train and empower your employees to handle important tasks, and document their responsibilities. This might involve hiring or grooming a second-in-command who can run operations day-to-day or simply trusting your staff with more autonomy.
Also, consider the incentives and plans you have in place to keep key employees on board for the long term. A savvy buyer will look at whether the right people are in the right positions and how likely they are to stay after the sale. If you have a star salesperson or an operations wizard, you want them to be happy and committed, not planning to quit as soon as you sell. Sometimes, owners even set up bonus plans or stay incentives that ensure continuity through a transition. Even if you’re not selling right now, having a business that can thrive without your constant presence is healthy. It means you can take a vacation (or deal with an emergency), without everything grinding to a halt, and it makes the business inherently more valuable.
Broaden Your Customer Base (and Reduce Risk)
From a buyer’s perspective, one of the biggest risks in acquiring a small business is a heavy dependence on just a few customers. If a single client or a couple of accounts make up the bulk of your revenue, that’s a shaky foundation. Ask yourself: if you were buying a company, would you rather have one with 50 different customers or one with just 2 big customers? It’s obvious that more diversified revenue streams feel safer.
To address this, look at your customer mix and take steps to broaden it. This might mean ramping up marketing to reach new customer segments, developing new products or services to attract a wider audience, or expanding into new markets or regions.
If you do have a concentration in one or two large clients, think about how to mitigate that risk. Can you secure longer-term contracts with them to give a buyer more confidence? Or can you start growing other accounts so the percentage of revenue from big ones goes down over time? Also, consider the diversity of your suppliers and partners. Reliance on a single supplier can be just as problematic, so it’s worth shoring that up too. The broader and more balanced your business’s sources of revenue, the more resilient and attractive it will be to a buyer. Plus, a diverse customer base means your company is less likely to falter if any one account leaves, which is a huge benefit for you as an ongoing owner.
Sharpen Your Competitive Edge and Brand
Buyers will examine how your business fits into its market. Your competitive position, brand strength, and growth potential all come into play. Take this opportunity to sharpen your company’s edge. Start by evaluating your brand: is it strong, clear, and well-regarded? A well-defined and consistent brand helps distinguish your company from competitors and can even justify premium pricing for your products or services. Investing in your brand and marketing can pay off by attracting more customers and boosting loyalty, which in turn drives up the business’ value.
Also, reflect on what sets you apart in your industry. If you have any intellectual property (like trademarks, patents, or proprietary know-how) make sure it’s protected and in order, as buyers will definitely take note. If not, consider how else you can build a moat around your business, whether through exceptional customer service, unique products, or a niche you dominate. Demonstrating a clear understanding of your market and a strategy for capturing opportunities (and fending off threats) will make your business look more promising to any outsider. Essentially you want to tell a story that your company is not a commodity anyone can replicate easily, but rather a growing venture with a solid reputation and room to expand.
Boost Efficiency and Profitability
If you were acquiring a business, you’d want to know it’s as profitable as it can be. Not just in terms of current earnings, but also that it’s running efficiently without unnecessary costs or waste. Increasing your profitability before a sale is one of the surest ways to increase your company’s value. Look for inefficiencies or excess costs that you can trim without harming your business. Sometimes this means addressing wasteful spending, renegotiating overpriced vendor contracts, or streamlining workflows to save time and money.
It can also mean making tough choices about what business you take on. For instance, you might discover that a big customer who brings a lot of revenue is actually barely profitable once you crunch the numbers. Don’t be afraid to focus on higher-margin products or customers and shed the lower-margin ones; even if it means a short-term dip in revenue, your bottom line and long-term value will improve. Efficiency improvements like adopting new technology, automating tasks, or reconfiguring your space for better workflow can also boost your capacity and profit without necessarily increasing costs. The end goal here is to show a buyer a healthy, glowing profit stream and the potential to grow it further, which makes your business a much more enticing prospect.
Plan for Future Growth
Finally, remember that when somebody buys a business, they’re not just buying what it is today, but what it could become. So, what’s the future story of your company? Having a clear, believable growth plan will instill confidence that the business can continue to thrive in years to come. Try to highlight the opportunities you see for the next 3-5 years and how you plan to capitalize on them, while also acknowledging the potential threats and how you’ll mitigate them. This kind of forward-looking planning shows that you’re on top of the industry’s direction and your company’s place in it. It’s also great practice for running the business well, because it forces you to set goals and strategies rather than just drifting along.
If you intend to sell, think about how to paint an exciting but realistic picture of growth for the prospective buyer. Maybe it’s entering a new market, launching a new product line, or simply scaling up what you’re already doing profitably. Lay out why the future is bright and what it will take to get there. One the flip side, if you plan to keep running the business long-term, having this roadmap means you’re actively creating that future value for yourself. In fact, “preparing your business for sale is exactly like preparing your business to be well run.” When you plan and build for the future, you’re ensuring your company is built to last, whether you eventually hand it off to someone else or continue steering the ship.
Final Thoughts: Creating Lasting Value
Putting on a buyer’s hat can be an enlightening experience for any business owner. It forces you to ask the hard questions: Would I buy this company? If not, why? Then, importantly, what can I do to change that? By proactively fixing things that would give a buyer pause (whether it’s messy books, an over-reliance on a single client, or a business that can’t run without you), you’re not just prepping a business for a potential sale, you’re creating lasting value.
A business that checks a buyer’s boxes (clean finances, smooth operations, stable revenue, strong team, growth prospects) is also one that’s resilient and well-positioned for the future.
In the end, whether or not you sell your company, you’ll have a stronger enterprise that can weather challenges and carry forward the value you’ve built. So, take a step back, see what you would fix if you were buying your own business, and then get to work. Your future self (and any future buyer) will thank you.
References
- BizEquity (2026). “Bringing a Buyer’s Prospective on Business Value to Small Business Owners.”
- Preferred CFO (2025). “20+ Mistakes to Avoid When Selling Your Business.”
- Warren Averett (2023). “Selling a Business: Checklist from a Buyer’s Perspective.”
- WIPFLI (2022). “Increasing Saleable Business Value: Decreasing a buyer’s perceived risk.”
- ESOP Partners (2022). “Top 11 Strategies to Boost the Value of Your Business Before You Sell.”
- CFO University (2026). “How to Make Your Business Attractive to a Buyer.”
