“I don’t know why Brian thinks he can sell the business. He is the business.” Brian’s wife looked worried as she made the statement. She works in the business with Brian. They are partners, but everyone knows it’s Brian’s business.

She continues, “Everything has to go through him first. Everyone knows that a decision hasn’t really been made unless Brian signs off. The customers only want to talk to him. He loves being the center of everything. The place just shuts down when he’s not here.”

She concluded, “I don’t know how this place would work without him, but he’s convinced that he can sell it to someone. He doesn’t want to run the business anymore, but he won’t stop doing everything himself.”

You wonder: “Will I be able to sell my small business?” In this three-part series we discuss our Simple Approach” to answering that question. The key? Understanding “my results buy my business” and answering three simple questions. (Question 1, Question 3)

An older couple who owned a small bar invited me to talk to them about selling their business. When I arrived, we walked to their basement offices where I stopped in the doorway. I was shocked to see their desks were covered in stacks of cash. Mostly $1’s and $5’s, with the piles so high I worried throughout our conversation about a collapse.

With a grin the couple described how they had “done pretty well” even though their tax returns showed they’d never made a dollar (wink-wink). “Sure, our tax returns look bad, but those aren’t our real results.”

You wonder: “Will I be able to sell my small business?” In this three-part series we discuss our Simple Approach” to answering that question. The key? Understanding “my results buy my business” and answering three simple questions. (Question 1, Question 2)