Owner tool · 5 minutes

Ready is a checklist,not a feeling.

Twelve statements in three parts: the business, you and your family, and your money. Check one only if it is true today, not planned and not half done. The list works the same whether ready means selling, handing the business to family, or running it for another twenty years on your own terms.

The business.

01.The business could run for a month without me. Customers get served, decisions get made, payroll goes out, and nothing important sits waiting for my return.

02.Someone other than me could lead it. There is a person or a team ready to step up, and the employees we can’t afford to lose have a written reason to stay.

03.Losing any one customer would hurt, not sink us. No single account dominates our revenue, and our key relationships sit with the company and its team, not only with me.

04.Our numbers and our methods are on paper. We have financial statements a lender or buyer could rely on, and the way we do the work is written down well enough for someone new to follow.

You and your family.

05.I know how I want to spend my time once the business no longer needs me. Something more specific than “slow down”: what fills my weeks and what gives them purpose.

06.The people my plans affect have heard them. My spouse, my family, and any partners know what I intend, and I know what they expect.

07.If something happened to me tomorrow, the people around me would know what to do. They know who steps in, who to call first, and where the documents are. My will, powers of attorney, and beneficiary designations are current.

08.Every owner agrees on what happens next. If I have partners, our buy-sell agreement is signed, up to date, and has a way to pay for the buyout. If I own the business alone, my estate plan says what happens to my shares.

Your money.

09.I know what income I would need without the business, and how much of it my other assets could cover. The difference is the Wealth Gap, and the worksheet linked below estimates it in about five minutes.

10.I know roughly what the business is worth, and why. I have a recent estimate from someone independent and a clear sense of what would raise or lower it.

11.I have compared my real options on what each would leave me after taxes. The options include a sale to an outside buyer, a management buyout, a sale to employees through an ESOP, a transfer to family, a recapitalization (selling a stake to an investor), and holding the business and drawing income from it.

12.My advisors are working from one written plan. My CPA, attorney, and financial advisor know what I am aiming for, talk to each other, and each knows the next step and who owns it.

What your count tells you.

You’ve checked 0 of 12.

Checked	What it means
0–4	Most of the work is ahead. That is a good place to start from, because the earlier the work begins, the more choices you tend to keep. Pick the unchecked item that worries you most.
5–8	Pieces in place. Some of the work is done. The next step is making the pieces fit, so the business, your family plans, and your money all point at the same goal.
9–11	Close. Look hard at what is still unchecked and ask which item would hurt most if it stayed that way for another year.
12	Ready on paper. The questions now are timing and execution. Recheck the list each year, because a change in health, family, or the market can uncheck a box.

Checked

What it means

0–4

Most of the work is ahead. That is a good place to start from, because the earlier the work begins, the more choices you tend to keep. Pick the unchecked item that worries you most.

5–8

Pieces in place. Some of the work is done. The next step is making the pieces fit, so the business, your family plans, and your money all point at the same goal.

9–11

Close. Look hard at what is still unchecked and ask which item would hurt most if it stayed that way for another year.

Ready on paper. The questions now are timing and execution. Recheck the list each year, because a change in health, family, or the market can uncheck a box.

Then look at where your blanks fall. If most sit in one part, start there. If they are spread across all three, the first job is getting the three to agree. A fuller version of this check is where client work begins: Clarify, the first phase of the Bright Forecast Method.

However many you checked,start with one.

A 15-minute conversation, with no pitch and no homework. Bring your list, and we’ll go through the unchecked items with you and suggest which one to take on first. If we’re a fit, we can go further. If not, we’ll say so.

Ready is a checklist,not a feeling.

The business.

You and your family.

Your money.

What your count tells you.

However many you checked,start with one.