Money Secrets Season 3, Episode 70: Preparing to sell your business. — Why does building a sellable business benefit you long before you're ready to exit? From profitability and cash flow to systems, processes, brand strength, and founder dependency - a breakdown of the key factors that influence business value and practical steps you can take to build a stronger business.

In this episode of Money Secrets, Fi explores what it really takes to prepare a business for sale.

Listen to Episode 70

What You’ll Learn in This Episode

Why selling a business takes longer than most people expect. Exiting a business often requires significant time, energy, and preparation.
What buyers are really looking for. Profitability, assets, systems, and risk all influence business value.
Why consistent profits matter. Buyers want confidence that a business can generate reliable returns over time.
The assets that increase business value. Brands, websites, customer contracts, and engaged communities all count.
How buyers assess risk. Leases, staffing obligations, and legal issues can impact a sale.
Why founder dependency is a problem. Businesses that rely heavily on the owner can be harder to sell.
How systems and processes add value. Clear workflows help a business operate without constant founder involvement.
Why positive cash flow is essential. Healthy cash flow supports both sustainability and growth.
The role of brand and community. Strong customer relationships can make a business more attractive to buyers.
How to prepare your business for sale. Pricing, profitability, systems, and team development all matter.
Why building a sellable business benefits you now. The same improvements often create a better business to own.
How to create more freedom as a business owner. Reducing founder reliance gives you greater flexibility and options.

Preparing to sell your business (EP#70)

Introduction

We've made a lot of progress as a society in many areas, but one thing that hasn’t changed enough is our relationship with money. If we want to tip the scales in favour of marginalised people, we need to understand the secrets to making money in small business.

The more we talk about money — especially the secrets that usually stay behind closed doors or on the golf course — the more empowered we become. My mission is to get more money into the hands of good people, specifically business owners like you.

Because I believe small business can change the world. And to do that, we need to be making more money.

Acknowledgement of Country

This episode was recorded on the lands of the Wurundjeri People of the Kulin Nation. I’d like to acknowledge them as the Traditional Owners and custodians of this land and water that I live, work and play on.

I pay my respects to Elders past and present, and recognise that sovereignty has never been ceded. This always was, and always will be, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander land.

Preparing to Sell Your Business (Even If You Never Plan To)

Most business owners don't spend much time thinking about selling their business.

After all, you're busy running it.

But what if preparing your business for sale wasn't just about an eventual exit? What if the process of making your business attractive to a potential buyer actually made it stronger, more profitable, and more enjoyable to own right now?

In this episode of Money Secrets, Fi shares what she's learned from helping businesses prepare for sale and explains why thinking like a buyer can help you build a more valuable business, whether you plan to sell it or not.

Start Talking About Your Team

If you want to attract great people, Fi recommends making it visible that you're an employer who values your team.

This might look like:

Featuring team members on social media
Sharing team wins and achievements
Talking about the roles people play in your business
Highlighting collaboration and culture

Not only does this help potential candidates understand what it's like to work with you, but it also recognises and celebrates the people already contributing to your business.

Selling a Business Is Harder Than Most People Think

When business owners start thinking about selling, it's often because they're feeling overwhelmed, burnt out, or ready for a change.

But Fi explains that selling a business is rarely a quick solution.

Even highly desirable businesses can take a long time to sell, and the process itself can be emotionally demanding. Between negotiations, due diligence, financial reviews, and finding the right buyer, selling a business often requires more time and energy than people expect.

If exiting your business is part of your future plans, it's worth remembering that preparing for the sale is just as important as finding the buyer.

What Buyers Really Look For

As business owners, it's easy to focus on everything we love about our business.

Potential buyers look at things differently.

One of the first things they'll assess is profitability. Not just whether the business is profitable today, but whether it has a history of generating consistent profits over time.

A business that produces reliable profits year after year is generally far more appealing than one with fluctuating results.

Buyers are also looking for predictability. They want confidence that the business will continue performing after the purchase is complete.

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The Assets That Add Value

When someone buys a business, they're not just buying revenue.

They're buying assets.

Those assets might include:

A recognisable and trusted brand
A high-performing website
Loyal customers and community
A strong social media presence
An engaged email list
Documented systems and processes
Contracts that provide future revenue
Equipment, stock, fit-outs, and physical assets

The stronger these assets are, the more valuable the business becomes.

Understanding the Risks and Liabilities

A buyer will also look closely at potential risks.

They'll want to understand:

What liabilities exist within the business
Whether existing staff need to be retained
Whether there are leases or contractual obligations attached to the business
Any legal, operational, or customer-related risks

For example, if your business operates from a leased premises, a buyer may not necessarily want to take over that lease. Understanding these details before you enter the sales process can help avoid surprises later.

What Happens When the Founder Leaves?

One of the biggest questions a buyer asks is:

Can this business operate without the founder?

If customers only buy because of you, or if every decision relies on your involvement, the business becomes significantly harder to sell.

This is particularly important for service-based businesses.

Clients don't automatically transfer their loyalty to a new owner. Unless contracts are in place, customers may choose not to continue after the sale.

The more independent your business becomes from you personally, the more attractive it is to potential buyers.

How to Prepare Your Business for Sale

Whether you're planning to sell in two years or twenty years, Fi recommends focusing on a few key areas.

Improve Profitability

Review your pricing, costs, and delivery model.

Ask yourself:

Are your prices high enough?
Are you generating positive cash flow?
Are you over-servicing clients?
Are there unnecessary expenses reducing profitability?

A healthy, profitable business is always more attractive to buyers.

Build Strong Systems and Processes

Think about what would happen if you took a month off tomorrow.

Would the business continue running?

Documenting systems, implementing software, and creating clear processes helps reduce founder dependency and makes the business easier to operate.

Strengthen Your Brand

Your brand is an asset.

Your website, photography, videography, copywriting, customer experience, and visual identity all contribute to the value of your business.

Investing in your brand today can increase the long-term value of the business while also helping you attract more customers right now.

Nurture Your Community

Many business owners underestimate the value of the audience they've already built.

Your email list, social media following, customer database, and community relationships are all valuable assets.

The stronger and more engaged your audience, the more attractive your business becomes.

Build a Business That Doesn't Depend Entirely on You

Whether that means hiring a general manager, training team members to take on leadership responsibilities, or delegating key tasks, reducing founder dependency creates value.

The goal is to create a business that can continue operating even when you're not there every day.

The Surprising Outcome

One of the most interesting things Fi sees when business owners start preparing their business for sale is that they often end up wanting to keep it.

Why?

Because the process of improving profitability, strengthening systems, investing in the brand, building a loyal community, and creating operational independence results in a stronger business overall.

The same things that make your business attractive to a buyer often make it a far better business for you to own.

Key Takeaways From This Episode

Selling a business often takes longer than expected.
Buyers value consistent profitability over unpredictable results.
Strong brands, systems, and communities increase business value.
Buyers assess both assets and liabilities before purchasing.
Founder dependency can reduce the attractiveness of a business.
Strong processes make a business easier to operate and sell.
Investing in your brand creates long-term value.
Engaged communities are valuable business assets.
Preparing your business for sale can improve its performance today.
The things that make your business valuable to buyers often make it more valuable to you.

Final thoughts

Preparing your business for sale isn't really about selling.

It's about building a business that creates value.

Whether you plan to sell one day or keep your business forever, focusing on profitability, cash flow, systems, brand strength, and community will make your business more resilient, more enjoyable to run, and ultimately more valuable.

And that's something every business owner can benefit from.

Outro

Thank you for listening to Money Secrets. If you loved this episode, please subscribe, share it with a friend, or leave a review. Your support helps us get these conversations into the hands of more good people who deserve to thrive in business.

We’ve come so far as a society in many ways, but money is one of the areas where progress hasn’t been enough. If we want to tip the scales in favour of marginalised people, it starts with understanding the secret: money in small business.

In this podcast, Money Secrets, host Fiona (Fi) Johnston—Chartered Accountant, small business advocate, and impact enthusiast—dives into the conversations we need to have about money. The secrets that once stayed behind closed doors (or on the golf course) are finally out in the open.

Fi’s mission? To get more money into the hands of good people, like you. She believes small businesses have the power to change the world, and the key to making a bigger impact is to make—and manage—more money.

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Thank you to everyone involved for bringing this podcast together. We are excited to hear from you with any questions, feedback or suggestions for future episodes that you might have. Send a Direct Message to @peach.business

If you are excited for what’s to come, please like this episode, follow the podcast and share it with your friends. We are thrilled you're here.

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