QUEST ADVISINGText Max (210) 880-5690Should you keep growing it, or sell it?
For the owner of a $5M to $15M company who is tired and wondering whether to sell.
It is Sunday night, the week ahead is already full, and you have not had a real day off since spring. The thought comes back: maybe I should just sell it and be done. Then a broker's letter shows up, and now it is a real question.
Being tired of how it runs is not the same as being done with it. The work that makes it run without you also makes it worth more to a buyer and better to keep. So you can do that work first and decide later, when you are not this tired.
Most of what you find on this question is written by people paid when a business sells. Quest is not neutral either. Max is not a broker and does not value or sell companies. He builds the operation so it runs without the owner, which helps either way.
If you would rather talk it through with Max Kozlovsky, the advisor behind Quest, start a conversation. He asks the questions. Nothing to prepare.
There is still a company here you want to build.
You are done with it, not just tired.
You keep the company, and other people run the day.
What deciding tired costs you
First, how tired you are. One owner put it this way: "There does come a point where I got nothing left." A tired owner can take the first offer he is shown, and end up selling because of one bad week.
Second, the company. One that still runs through the owner is the hardest kind to sell, because a buyer pays for what keeps working after you leave. It is also the hardest kind to keep, because it keeps you this tired.
Third, who you ask, and how they are paid. A broker or M&A advisor is usually paid mostly when the sale closes, and a wealth advisor on the money he manages after it. Good ones will tell you not to sell yet.
Four things tired owners do first
Each is a reasonable move.
You decide on a bad week. It seems clear at the time. A week later it often looks different.
You call a broker first to see what it is worth. It is fair to want to know. A number is not a reason to sell.
You push for one more big year to sell from. If it still runs through you, a big year mostly leaves you more tired.
You say nothing and keep it to yourself. You can't say it to anyone at work, so you think about it alone at night.
For who helps with what, see Who to hire between $5M and $50M.
Two owners, in their own words
To talk through which way yours leans, start a conversation with Max, or text him.
What each choice asks of you
Keep growing it
It is the right road when there is more you want to build, and the name still matters to you. It means more work from you before it gets easier.
The limit: growth that still runs through you adds to the load you already have.
Sell it
It is the right road when you are done with it, not just tired. It needs a company that keeps working without you, so a buyer can trust it. The U.S. Small Business Administration's guide to selling says to get a business valuation before marketing to buyers, and to list "broker fees" in the sales agreement.
The limit: selling does not fix a company that depends on you. A buyer sees it, and offers you worse terms.
Step back and keep it
It is the right road when you still want the company but not the job you do in it. It needs people who take responsibility, and you have to let their decisions stand.
The limit: it takes time, and you give up being the one who knows everything.
Which way it leans
| Keep growing it when | Sell it when |
|---|---|
| There is still more you want to build | Life after the sale looks better to you |
| After real time off, you stop wanting to sell | After real time off, you still want to sell |
| It started with a bad quarter or a bad hire | It has been true for a year or more |
| You want to take it bigger yourself | You want it bigger than your energy allows |
| What you want for your people needs you there | What you want for your people needs a new owner |
One owner's reasons, sorted
This owner is made up. Here are his reasons for selling, each with a note.
- I haven't had a real week off in four yearsHow it runs. That can change while you keep it.
- Every estimate still comes to meHow it runs. Fixable, and a buyer would want it fixed too.
- A broker called and the number sounded goodNeither. An offer means someone wants to buy. It is not a reason to sell.
- I don't want to be doing this at sixtyAbout him. Worth planning for either way.
- I've stopped caring whether we win the big jobsAbout him. If it lasts after a month off, take it seriously.
It starts with fifteen minutes. At the end you both know if it is worth sitting down for longer.
Before you decide
These checks work whatever you decide.
Could it run for a month without you? If not, start there, whichever way you go.
Would you still want to sell after a month off? If you stop wanting to sell after some rest, it was the job wearing you down.
Do you know what you would do the Monday after? The Exit Planning Institute's 2023 report found 41% of owners "had a formal, written plan for what they would do after selling their company." So most did not.
Who is advising you, and how are they paid? It is a fair question, and a good advisor answers it plainly.
The short version
- Tired of how it runs is not the same as done with it. Decide once you can tell which.
- Making it run without you is the same work whether you keep it or sell it.
- Most people who advise on selling are paid when you sell. Ask each one how.
- Run the checks before you answer any offer.
This page is useful even if you never talk to Max. If you want to, start a conversation, or text him.
Questions owners ask
Is Max going to talk me out of selling?
No. It is your call. Max helps you think it through, and the work he does, a company that runs without you, helps whether you keep it or sell it.
What is my business worth?
That is a question for a valuation professional. As a general rule, a company is worth more to a buyer when it keeps working after the owner leaves.
I'm just tired. Isn't that reason enough to sell?
It is a real reason. The question is which tired it is. If it lifts once the company stops needing you every day, it was the job.
I've had an offer. Should I just take it?
An offer tells you someone wants to buy, not whether you want to sell. Run the checks above before you answer.
If I make it run without me, am I just doing the buyer's work?
Only if you sell. If you keep it, you did the work for yourself. If you sell, the buyer sees a company that works without you.
Who to hire between $5M and $50M shows who does which part, from brokers to advisors.
Not sure which tired it is? Say what is going on.
Text Max or start a conversation, and say what is going on in your own words.
If it is not a fit, he says so and that is the end of it, no follow-up.
You hear back typically the same day, or early the next. Nothing to prepare.