Get your business ready for the next owner.
A business that runs on written-down systems is easier to show, easier to sell and easier to hand over. I document how yours actually runs, so someone else can understand it and run it.
Operations work only. No valuation, tax, legal or investment advice. I work alongside your advisor, CPA and attorney.
Why this matters now
Buyers pay for a business that can run without the owner. But in most small businesses, how things actually get done lives in the owner's head.
Source: Exit Planning Institute, 2025 Generational State of Owner Readiness Report.
The operations side of getting ready.
Your advisor, CPA and attorney handle the money, the taxes and the deal. I handle the part that usually gets left until last: getting the day-to-day written down so a buyer can trust it and a new owner can run it.
You hire me directly, for a flat project fee agreed in writing before work starts. My fee never depends on whether, when or for how much the business sells.
What I handle
- Writing down how the work actually gets done
- Mapping who does what, and what only you can do
- Organizing systems, records and documents in one place
What stays with your advisors
- Valuation and what the business is worth
- Tax, legal and deal structure
- Investment and retirement planning
What you end up with
- A business that is ready to show
- Fewer things that only you know
- A handover plan the next owner can follow
Eight things a buyer will want to see.
Every project is scoped to your business, so not every owner needs all eight. We agree on the list in the Clarity Session.
SOPs and process maps
The key workflows written step by step, in plain English, the way your team really does them.
Roles and responsibilities chart
Who owns what, who backs them up, and where the handoffs happen.
Owner-dependency list
Everything that still runs through you, with a plan for each one.
Assets, contracts, vendors and customers inventory
The relationships and agreements the business depends on, listed in one place.
Systems and tools inventory
Software and accounts, who owns each login, and what each one is used for.
Missing-information checklist
The gaps a buyer or their team is likely to ask about, so you can close them early.
Organized document folder
A clean, labeled folder you control, ready to share with your advisors when you choose.
Transition and handover playbook
A practical guide for the first months under a new owner or successor.
Useful before, during and after a sale.
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Before a valuation or sale
Ready to show
The business is documented before buyers start asking questions, not after.
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At your planning meetings
Records ready ahead of time
Show up to your advisor or CPA with the operations side already organized.
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After the sale
A smoother handover
A written playbook makes the transition period easier on you, the new owner and your team.
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Not selling yet
Less riding on you
Even if a sale is years off, a business that runs with less of you in it is a better business today.
A local manufacturer.
Job tracking and handoffs lived mostly with the owner. I documented the key workflow from order to delivery, so the team could run it with less owner involvement. That is the same kind of work an Exit Readiness project starts with.
Details kept general to protect client privacy. Every business is different and no outcome is promised.
Four steps. Flat fees. You stay in charge.
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Free 15-minute call: "Is your business ready to sell?"
A quick conversation about where things stand and whether this is a fit. No charge and no obligation.
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Clarity Session over Zoom
A focused working session where we scope what your business needs, with examples tailored to how you operate. You get a written plan and a flat project quote.
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One to two weeks of documentation
Focused work with you and the people closest to the work. You review everything before it is final.
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Follow-up review
We walk through everything together, close any gaps, and you keep all of it.
The full $395 is credited to your first project when you accept its quote within 30 days of the quote date.
Projects are flat fee, quoted in writing before work starts. No percentage of any sale, ever.
The Exit Readiness Checklist.
A two-page checklist you can work through on your own: operations, people and roles, systems and data, customers and vendors, the documents to start gathering, and questions worth bringing to your advisor, CPA and attorney.
Print it, share it with your team, or bring it to your next advisor meeting.
What Exit Readiness is not.
This is operations work. For everything below, talk to your financial advisor, CPA or attorney. I am happy to work alongside them.
- Business valuation or appraisal
- Tax, legal or accounting advice
- Investment, retirement or financial planning advice
- Finding buyers, marketing a business for sale or negotiating a deal
- Fees based on a sale price or tied to a sale closing
- Holding or managing your money, accounts or securities
Straight answers.
Do I need to be selling soon?
No. Some owners start years ahead. A documented business is easier to run today and easier to hand over later, whether that is a sale, a family member or a key employee.
Will you work with my financial advisor, CPA or attorney?
Yes, if you want me to. I stay in my lane, which is operations. You decide what gets shared with whom, and they handle valuation, tax, legal and investment questions.
How is it priced?
Flat fees, agreed in writing before work starts. The readiness call is free, the Clarity Session is $395 and credited to the project, and the project itself is quoted after we scope it together. Nothing I charge depends on a sale.
Is my information kept private?
Yes. The work and the folder are yours, set up in accounts you control. I only use your information for the agreed project.
How much of my time does it take?
Some, because a lot of this lives in your head. Most of the work happens with you and your team over one to two weeks, and I do the writing and organizing.
Question not here? Email JWhalen@ClearPathWV.com. I answer these myself.
Is your business ready to sell?
Twenty minutes is enough to see where you stand and whether this is a fit. No charge and no pressure.
Or email JWhalen@ClearPathWV.com.