No one runs a business forever.

At some point in the future, you’ll want to realise the value you’ve built in your business.

The financial outcome is a key part of this, but you also care about what happens to your team, your customers, your reputation and the legacy you leave behind.

Whether your future looks like a sale, MBO, EOT, succession or simply stepping back, the route may be different, but the principle is the same:

the more exit ready you and your business are, the better positioned you are to achieve the outcome you want.

Exit Compass is designed for owners of established businesses who want to build value, explore their options and prepare for a future beyond running the business.

The Exit Readiness Assessment looks at how ready your business is for exit, showing where you’re already strong, where value or transferability may be constrained, and where change could make the biggest difference.

It also looks at your own readiness as a founder: how clear you are about what you want from an exit, and how prepared you are for the transition and what comes afterwards.

You’ll receive a personal Exit Readiness Map showing your current position and the areas most likely to strengthen your future options.

Built on a structured methodology across twelve areas of business and owner readiness, it provides a robust, meaningful diagnostic and a clear next step.

Building value, reducing dependence on you as the owner and strengthening the areas a future buyer or successor will care about takes time.

Ideally, preparation starts three to five years before you intend to leave. Taking steps to strengthen your business, reduce its dependence on you and address potential risks can make it more attractive to future buyers, improve its value and give you more options when the time comes. The final year or two can then focus on getting the business transaction-ready: resolving outstanding issues, preparing for due diligence and reducing execution risk, helping a deal progress more smoothly and quickly.

But a successful exit isn't just about completing a deal. Preparing early also gives you and your team time to plan for the handover and changes that follow, reducing the risk of losing hard-won value during the transition. It also creates more choice over how and when you eventually exit.

I bring together commercial and strategic thinking from my management consulting background, first-hand experience of building, leading and selling my own business, and professional coaching expertise for the leadership and personal challenges that come with change.

This means we can work on both sides of exit readiness: strengthening the business while making sure you’re ready for the decisions, transition and life beyond it.

I work alongside accountants, lawyers, corporate finance advisers and other specialists where needed. I don’t sell businesses and my fee doesn’t depend on whether a transaction happens, so the focus stays on the outcome that is right for you.