Everyone Exits Eventually

The path: five stages

Each stage answers one question an owner asks. You move on when you pass the gate, not when a date arrives.

A gate is a score plus conditions

A gate is not a deadline. It is a score you reach plus a few conditions you can confirm with a document. Some owners pass a gate in weeks. Others take a year. Either is fine. Moving on before the business is ready only shows up later, in the price.

The score comes from the eight proofs. Each proof is scored from 0 to 3, so the most a business can score is 24.

How each proof is scored

0. Not proven: You believe it, but cannot show it.
1. Partly: Evidence exists but is incomplete, late, or needs you to explain it.
2. Proven: A third party could verify it from documents alone.
3. Proven and tested: Verified and stress-tested: an outsider reviewed it, or it held up when it mattered.

Plan

The owner's question

What do I want, what is it worth, and what is the gap?

What happens

You write down the day after the sale and what that life costs. You take the Exit Readiness Check and score your Eight Proofs baseline. You estimate what the business is worth and what you would keep, and compare it with your number. You sign a contingency letter and start your Resale Strategy.

The gate to Prepare

Value gap written down and contingency letter signed.

Conditions you will be asked to confirm:

Value gap written down?
Contingency letter signed?

Prepare

The owner's question

Can I prove what I say about this business?

What happens

You close your books every month and build a bridge from your P&L to your tax return. You install the operating rhythm: a Strategic Vision Plan, a Role Map, a weekly Scorecard and a Weekly Sync.

The gate to Improve

The Books and The Team at 1 or better, and twelve weeks of Scorecard history.

Conditions you will be asked to confirm:

Twelve weeks of Scorecard history?

Improve

The owner's question

Is it getting more valuable and less dependent on me?

What happens

You work one Focus Constraint at a time. You document your systems and train your people on them, fix job costing and margin, set written goals for your leaders, move referral relationships from individuals to the company, and schedule your month away.

The gate to Pinnacle

16 of 24 with no proof at 0.

Pinnacle

The owner's question

Could I take the call tomorrow?

What happens

You take the month away. Your Readiness File is complete and current, your licenses and franchise standing are in order, your Resale Strategy is final and your advisors are in place. You hold the score for two quarters in a row.

The gate to Represent

20 of 24, every proof at 2 or better, month away completed, value estimate less than 12 months old.

Conditions you will be asked to confirm:

Month away completed and documented?
Value estimate less than 12 months old?

Represent

The owner's question

I am ready, or life has decided. Who runs the process?

What happens

A confidential sale process: engagement, valuation, confidential marketing, buyer qualification, offers, due diligence, franchisor approval, closing and transition.

How the path ends

Closed, or a deliberate decision to hold as an owner-optional business.