Business Exit Readiness Review

Windsor Drake’s advisory practice represents companies of meaningful scale in full sell-side processes. Many owners who contact us run excellent businesses that are earlier on that arc, typically under two million dollars in revenue, and what they need first is not a banker. They need an honest, structured answer to three questions: what the business would be worth today, what specifically is suppressing that number, and what to do over the next year or two so the eventual sale is worth running a real process for. The Exit Readiness Review is a fixed-fee engagement built to answer exactly those questions.

What the review covers

The engagement examines the business the way an acquirer would, scaled to the realities of a smaller company. Financial quality: earnings normalized for owner compensation and discretionary expenses, revenue categorized by recurrence and concentration, and the gap between the books as kept and the books as a buyer will read them. Transferability: how much of the business’s value depends on the owner personally, whether customer relationships, pricing decisions, and operational knowledge would survive a handover, and what buyers in your sector typically require before they pay for goodwill. Market position: who realistically buys businesses like yours, individual operators, competitors, or consolidators, and what those buyers underwrite.

The deliverable is written and specific: a defensible valuation range with the reasoning shown, a prioritized list of the gaps costing the most value, and a sequenced 12-month readiness plan with the actions ranked by return on effort. Owners use it three ways: as the plan they execute before selling, as a baseline to measure the business against annually, and in some cases as the evidence that the right move is not selling yet.

Who this is for, and who it is not for

This engagement is designed for owners of profitable businesses typically under two million dollars in revenue: service firms, small manufacturers, niche software products, agencies, and specialized trades. It is a paid, scoped advisory engagement with a defined deliverable, not a listing agreement and not a success-fee mandate. There is no obligation beyond the review itself, and no expectation that Windsor Drake represents the eventual sale.

Owners of larger companies, typically five million dollars in revenue and above, are usually better served going directly to a conversation about full sell-side representation, and owners approaching retirement at any size should read our page on selling a business for retirement for how the preparation arc works at larger scale. If the review surfaces that your business is further along than you assumed, that conversation is available; if not, you own a plan either way.

Why a fixed fee

Success-fee economics do not fit companies at this size honestly: a contingent advisor is paid to push toward a transaction whether or not selling now serves you. A fixed fee removes that incentive. The review costs the same whether the conclusion is sell, wait, or build, which is what makes the conclusion worth having. Owners who follow the plan typically return to market later with cleaner earnings, documented operations, and a business that can clear the threshold where competitive sale processes and stronger multiples become available.

Frequently asked questions

What is an exit readiness review?

A fixed-fee advisory engagement that values your business the way a buyer would, identifies the specific gaps suppressing the number, and delivers a sequenced 12-month plan to close them. It is analysis and preparation, not a brokerage listing, and it carries no obligation to sell or to engage Windsor Drake afterward.

My business does under $2M in revenue. Can I still work with an M&A advisor?

Yes, through this review. Full sell-side processes are typically not economic at this size, which is why we offer a scoped, fixed-fee engagement instead. It gives smaller owners the same analytical lens larger sellers get, sized and priced for the decision you actually face.

How is this different from a business valuation?

A valuation gives you a number. The readiness review gives you the number, the reasons it is not higher, and the ordered plan to change it. For most owners the second and third parts are worth more than the first, because they turn an appraisal into a course of action.

When should I do this if I want to sell in a few years?

Now. The highest-return preparation steps, cleaning financials, reducing owner dependence, converting informal customer relationships into contracts, need a year or more of trailing history to be credible to buyers. A review done two to three years before a target sale gives the plan time to show up in the numbers.