Here’s a hard truth: Most small business owners don’t know what their business is worth. And worse, they overestimate it. If you’ve ever guessed the value of your business based on gut feel, a buddy’s exit, or something you heard at the golf club, this article is for you.

Most business owners don’t start with the intention of becoming their business’s bottleneck. But if you’re still leading every sales conversation, closing every deal, and holding every client relationship in your head, you are.

What if you sell your business for a life-changing amount of money... but only if you planned for it now? What if most owners don’t miss their chance to sell their business because their business wasn’t good, but because they simply ran out of time? How long does it take to sell a small business, really?

What if the single biggest thing holding back your exit… is you? Not your revenue. Not your business model. Not even your team. It’s how you think about the business you built.

The truth is, most founders aren’t running a business. They’re running a job. With a fancy title, no boss, and way more responsibility. And if that job depends on you, your name, your hustle, or your presence to function? You don’t own a sellable business. You own a beautiful, exhausting bottleneck.

Think your business is worth millions? Maybe it is not.

A recent survey revealed that 96% of small business owners don’t know what their business is actually worth. And most? They overestimate, sometimes by six figures or more.

If you’re banking your future on selling your business, it’s time for a reality check.

As more founders build profitable digital ventures, and as acquisition interest rises from both individuals and institutions, the gap between buyers and sellers is narrowing.

Yet, with increased activity comes new challenges: shifts in buyer expectations, evolving valuation benchmarks, and competition from both aggregators and solo acquirers.

What if the perfect buyer for your business is already in your network, but you don’t even know it yet? And what if waiting to look for business buyers until you’re “ready to sell” means you miss your best opportunity to exit on your terms?

Think your business is too small to sell? Think again. Whether you’re a solo entrepreneur or running a tight-knit team, the truth is: selling your business could be a reality for you too. 

Yet for many freedom-focused founders, the question lingers in the background: Is my business even sellable? Or is it just a glorified job with a logo?

What if the fastest way to scale your business... wasn’t doing more? What if you could skip the years of trial and error that comes with building and launching a new service or product line? That’s exactly what more business owners are discovering: grow through acquisitions.

What if your business could sell for more than you ever imagined? Not because you worked harder in those years prior to selling your business, but because you got smarter about what makes a business exit-ready.