If the answer is no, ask why. Whatever the reasons, those are the things to work on before asking someone else to buy it.
If a sale could be in your future,
start making those changes now
so a future buyer sees a stronger,
more valuable company.
Blue Chip Macro helps owners look at their companies through a buyer’s eyes, identify what should change, uncover additional opportunities and build a company that you would want to own and a future buyer would want to acquire.
A future buyer is asking two questions:
What could go wrong after I buy this business?
Why would I want to own this business instead of another one?
Use the years before a sale to reduce the risks buyers will see and strengthen what they will value. Make the changes early enough for the results to prove they worked.
When a buyer looks at a company, they should be able to quickly understand the business, its financial performance and why the opportunity deserves more attention.
A buyer’s first decision isn’t whether to buy your company. It’s whether your company is worth more of their time.
Start early enough that the numbers are easy to trust and the results support the story.
Increasing what a buyer will pay is only half the equation. What you keep after taxes matters too.
Start tax planning years before the sale so you have more options to keep more of the proceeds.
On a large transaction, getting those decisions right can mean millions of dollars.
Waiting until you have a buyer may be too late.
The sale of your business may be years away.
Good. Use that time to maximize what your
business is worth when you sell it.
Rick Norris, CFA, founder of Blue Chip Macro, has spent more than 35 years working with businesses as an advisor, buyer, seller and operator.
His experience includes more than 300 mergers, acquisitions and financing transactions at Bank of New York Mellon, including helping finance Disney’s acquisition of ABC and working on transactions involving Microsoft, Intel and Hilton Hotels. He has also founded, bought, operated and sold businesses of his own.
That combination gives Rick the perspective to see how your business operates today – and how a future buyer is likely to evaluate it.
Let’s spend 30 minutes looking at your business through a future buyer’s eyes and talking about what could make it more valuable before you sell it.

