You're wise to be thinking about this now. Most founders wait too long and leave leverage and legacy on the table. An exit isn’t a finish line. It’s the result of building something transferable, durable, and valuable in someone else’s hands. Here’s where I’d focus: 1. Make your numbers tell a story. Clean, accurate, and segmented financials aren't just for tax season. They’re how buyers decide if you're a risk or a reward. 2. Build the business beyond you. The less it relies on your presence, the more it's worth. Start extracting yourself from operations and documenting what drives results. 3. Understand your likely buyer. Different buyers value different things. The more clearly you understand who you’re building for, the better decisions you'll make today. We guide founders through this all the time. If it would be useful to walk through what a thoughtful exit might look like in your case, happy to share what we’ve seen work. You're asking the right question. Now’s the time to shape the right outcome.

Contemplate the industry and identify the primary metrics that any buyer will focus on in that vertical. Build a muscle around those metrics. Clean the financials like Yvette just mentioned to support this. Get the entire organization aligned around those metrics and those key measures. Live it and breathe it.