When The Read says build
Build the value first.
When The Read shows room to raise the number, we do the work for you. Each piece has a flat price, and we only take on the work that adds the most to what the business is worth.
Seven ways to make it worth more.
Owner Independence.
Make the business run, and sell, without you.
Businesses that depend on the owner sell for 25 to 50 percent less, often one to three turns of earnings. Putting a capable manager in charge is the biggest single thing you can do for the price.
The Bench.
Build the managers and field leads under you.
It proves to a buyer that the business really runs without you, and keeps that gain from slipping.
Key People.
Keep your key people through the sale.
Relying on one or two key people can cut the price by 5 to 25 percent. Lowering turnover and training backups protects the price.
Recurring Revenue.
Turn one-off and project work into contracted, recurring revenue.
Recurring revenue is one of the biggest drivers of price, and enough of it brings in bigger buyers.
Pricing Power.
Hold your margins through better pricing and estimating.
A buyer pays for the margin they believe. Proving it protects about one turn of earnings.
Real Earnings.
Prove your true earnings before the buyer’s review cuts them.
In their review, buyers often cut owner adjustments by 30 to 50 percent. Documenting them early protects the earnings your price is based on.
Clean Transfer.
Make sure your contracts and customer relationships can pass to a buyer.
Contracts that cannot pass to a buyer can lower the price or kill the deal. Fixing them removes that discount.
Each of these is a pod, with a flat fee starting at $10,000, set by the value it creates and how much work it takes. Bigger gaps and bigger businesses cost more. Before you commit, you see the fee, the scope, the timeline, and what it should do to your range.
Every pod ends with something a buyer can inspect: a document, a system, a person in the job, or a number you can defend when the buyer checks it.