4. What’s Your Business Really Worth?
A story about value, vulnerability, and letting numbers tell the truth.
James sat across from Sarah in the same meeting room where he'd signed supplier agreements, resolved staff disputes and planned product launches. But this time, the conversation was personal.
She slid a sheet of paper across the table. It was clean, concise, professional. A detailed valuation summary with three comparable sales, a weighted average EBITDA, and a proposed asking range.
James stared at the number. He blinked. “It’s… less than I expected,” he said, without looking up. Sarah didn’t flinch. “It usually is,” she replied gently. “The market values the future, not the past.”
James leaned back. He felt the burn behind his eyes. It wasn’t just about money. It was about meaning. That number, no matter how rational or defensible, felt like a stranger putting a price on his life’s work.
“I thought it would be higher,” he said. “After everything.”
“Of course you did,” she nodded. “But this is just a starting point. And it’s not a reflection of your worth. It’s a reflection of what buyers see when they look at your business without your name attached to it.”
James didn’t speak for a while. He just nodded. Slowly.
The Psychological Perspective
Valuation is one of the most emotionally loaded steps in the entire exit journey.
Owners pour decades of identity, sacrifice, and pride into their businesses. But buyers? Buyers look at numbers. Systems. Risks. They see the business without its founder in the frame and that’s the rub.
There’s often a deep dissonance between what the business feels like it’s worth and what the market is willing to pay. That gap isn’t just financial, it’s emotional and unless it’s named, it can quietly derail everything.
What helps? Reframing the valuation not as a verdict, but as a mirror. A data-informed snapshot of how well your business communicates its value without you in it.
When the ego steps back, the insight steps in.
HR Best Practice
From a leadership lens, value is created by systems - not just personalities.
The more your business relies on key people (especially you), the harder it is for buyers to trust it can keep running. HR best practice for building transferable value includes -
Documented systems and SOPs
Clear role accountability (not just job titles)
A stable, skilled, and empowered leadership team
Formalised employment contracts and retention planning
In James’s case, much of the business still lived in his head. The buyer didn’t see a machine, they saw a man who was the machine. That made them cautious. Sarah flagged it early as a fixable risk, not a flaw.
Red Flags To Be Mitigated Against
Inflated expectations often signal emotional rather than commercial thinking. Common red flags include -
Owners who value based on personal investment, not profit
Ignoring industry multiples or market realities
Wanting to “make back” years of reinvested salary or lost time
Refusing to accept buyer concerns or feedback
These don’t just slow deals down, they raise alarms. Buyers don’t want to negotiate against sentiment. They want data, logic, and structure.
Valuation isn’t personal - but the resistance to it often is.
Ideal Owner Mindset
The ideal owner mindset when confronting valuation is grounded, curious, and strategic.
That means -
Willingness to see through the buyer’s eyes
Openness to challenging assumptions
Readiness to adjust (not abandon) expectations
Acceptance that the value of the business and the meaning of the business are not the same thing
James didn’t have to love the number. He just had to understand it and decide what, if anything, he wanted to do about it.
Key Takeaway - Your business may be priceless to you, but its market value depends on how it performs without you. That’s not rejection - it’s realism. Start there.