Business Valuation & Exit Strategy: Business worth how much?

This course is designed to be short, practical and directly useful for owners and leaders of small and mid sized businesses. You will get the most value if you treat it as working time on your business, not background noise.

Work through the four modules in order. Pause the videos when you need to and complete the exercises at the end of each module with your own numbers and situation. The questions are not academic. They are the same questions I use with clients when we prepare for valuation and exit.

I recommend that you keep a simple notebook or document open while you watch. Capture three things each time:

1. any rough valuation numbers you calculate

2. the main risks or gaps you discover

3. two or three actions you might take in the next 12 to 36 months

If you have a co founder, finance lead or board, share your notes with them. The real benefit comes from the conversations and decisions that follow, not just from watching the videos.

We are considering building a longer and more detailed programme on valuation, buyers and exit planning. If you would be interested in that, please leave a review or send a short message saying what you would like more depth on. Your feedback will help shape what we build next.

This module introduces the basic methods used to value a business and shows why they are helpful but incomplete. It covers book value, income-based concepts, EBITDA multiples and price–sales ratios, and explains how debt, control, share rights and tax losses affect the number. The focus is on giving you a workable first estimate of enterprise value and a better sense of how a buyer might look at your figures.

This module looks at valuation from the buyer’s point of view. It starts with the idea that a business is worth what a willing buyer will pay a willing seller, then asks how your company fits into the buyer’s plan. We focus on what buyers usually value most – contracted and recurring revenues, a stable management team, secure supply arrangements and protected intellectual property – and how surprises or loss of focus during a sale can reduce value.

This module treats the sale of your business as a professional negotiation. It explains why experienced acquisition teams have an advantage, why it is important to create several interested buyers, and how competition between bidders can move the final price. It also covers timing, exclusivity and “chipping” during due diligence, so you keep leverage and are able to walk away from a weak deal.

The final module focuses on preparation over time. It looks at building capital value rather than just short-term profit, creating a business that can run without you, and investing in the features a future buyer will pay for. It also covers the practical work of getting “sale ready”: allowing enough time, preparing for full due diligence, building a clear story for buyers, creating several options and keeping the ability not to sell unless the offer is right.