Most owners find out what their company is worth at the worst possible time, after health or burnout or family has already forced the decision. We help Northwest Arkansas owners find out early, while there's still time to change the number.
Instead of a sold sign, a going-out-of-business sign goes up on the door. Nobody plans for that. It's just what happens when the exit never gets prepared for.
Your valuation decides what you can sell for, what financing you can get, what growth capital you can attract, and how much the business pays you in the end. Track it every year, not just the year you decide to leave.
Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization
Profit, not revenue. Not headcount, not your customer list. What the business actually earns.
Two businesses with identical earnings can sell for a 3x and an 8x in the same industry. This is why.
A traditional valuation is a snapshot of today. The work that matters is closing the distance between that number and what the business is capable of.
They came in planning to sell to their employees. We found the seats they needed to step out of, cleaned up their books, and mapped their real exit options. They ended up taking the business to the open market instead, at an 83% higher valuation.
Individual results vary and aren’t guaranteed.
About 80% of buyers come out of the corporate world, where they specialized in one thing: sales, or operations, or finance. Finding one person who can fill every seat you sit in today is close to impossible. The fewer seats you hold, the more people can realistically say yes.
Sales, management, and production all run through you.
One critical function no longer depends on you personally.
Semi-absentee or absentee ownership. Real competition for the deal.
Businesses where the owner is no longer an operator can command roughly half a turn to two full turns more on the earnings multiple, and they're far more likely to sell at all.
Passing the business to the kids or a key employee was Plan A for most of them. Plan A doesn't always survive real life. Here's what usually forces the decision:
By the time one of those shows up, the window to prepare has closed. Whatever the business is worth that day is what you get.
Not having a plan for the business is like retiring without having saved a day in your life. The good news is that one or two focused hours a week is enough to change the direction.
A valuation and exit assessment: what's working, what's exposed, and what the business is worth today.
Buyers pay for a track record, not one good year. You can move the number in twelve months, but a few years of proof is what earns the best multiple.
The sale process itself typically runs about a year, sometimes longer depending on the business.
The Exit Readiness Worksheet walks you through the same exercises we use in the working session, on your own business, at your own desk. Your answers save on your device.
Eight statements, scored 1 to 3. You get your band as soon as you finish, plus a 30/60/90 action plan you can print or email to yourself.
This is exit planning for established Northwest Arkansas business owners. It's not a job board, it's not a business-for-sale listing site, and it's not a franchise opportunity.
It combines a market-based valuation with a specific roadmap for closing the gap, so you know your real starting point before you spend years growing the wrong things.
Books and records alone account for roughly half of all deals that fall apart, and they largely decide whether you get cash at closing or end up carrying seller financing. The plan tells you what is holding your number back long before that matters.
Establish what the business is worth today and set the target.
Improve profit and metrics through benchmarking and tracking.
Document the team and processes for a clean handover.
Real growth, sales, and marketing strategy in place of guesswork.
Choose the path, the positioning, and the team to execute it.
Which one fits depends on where the business is and how hands-on you want the help to be. We sort that out on the consultation.
For newer and newly-acquired owners who want to learn the methodology at their own pace. Course library, tools and templates, a self-serve valuation tool, and a monthly live session with a certified consultant.
Everything in the Community, plus a facilitated peer mastermind for shared problem-solving, accountability, and momentum. Available in person or virtually.
Built directly around your Business Value and Growth Plan. A certified consultant works on your business: profit, systems, team, and eventually the transition itself.
Tad is a lifelong Northwest Arkansas native with about 27 years of executive and ministry leadership behind him, including 19 years as a lead pastor before he moved into the marketplace. He has built leadership training programs in several countries and written a published book on intentional leadership.
Today he works with owner-operated businesses across Benton and Washington Counties on one thing: increasing profit and value so the owner can leave on their own terms.
We only take consultations with owners we can actually help. These questions tell us whether that's you, and they give Tad enough context to make the call useful instead of introductory.
Exit planning for established Northwest Arkansas business owners.
This program is for owners. This isn’t a job application.
A range is fine. This sets the realistic valuation conversation.
Buyers pay for a track record, so this affects the number more than most owners expect.
There's no wrong answer here. Preparation usually runs three to five years ahead of a sale.
Tad reviews every submission personally before the call.
By submitting you agree to be contacted by Exit Factor of Northwest Arkansas about your inquiry. We don’t sell or share your information.
Pick a 30-minute slot below and you’ll get a confirmation by email. Tad will have your answers in front of him before you get on.
Open the booking calendarOpens in a new tab. The calendar also loads below.
Ten minutes of prep turns an intro call into a working session. Bring your numbers and Tad can go straight to what’s holding your value back.
Take the readiness quizBased on your answers, you’d be paying for help you’re not in a position to use yet. Here’s what moves your number from where you’re.
The Exit Readiness Worksheet gives you a value estimate, an owner-dependence map, a score out of 24, and a 30/60/90 action plan. Most of what a consultant would walk you through in a first session.
Take the readiness quizThe whole framework: the two value factors, the four real exit options, the three financial fixes, and how to get out of the operator's seat. Free, and enough to work from on your own.
Send me the guideA self-paced course library, tools and templates, a valuation tool you can run yourself, and a monthly live session with a certified consultant. Built for owners at your stage.
Tell me about the CommunityWe have your details. When the business gets to the point where consulting pays for itself, we’ll be here. You can always call 479-329-2848.
Yes. The 30-minute consultation costs nothing and there’s no obligation attached. If it makes sense to go further, the next step is the Business Value and Growth Plan. We’ll walk you through what that involves and what it costs on the call, once there’s enough on the table to answer honestly.
Usually it’s the opposite. Preparation runs three to five years, because buyers pay for a proven track record rather than one strong year. The owners who wait until they want out are the ones who end up accepting whatever the number is that day.
No. The work here’s increasing profit and value before a sale is ever on the table. Most of what happens in the first year has nothing to do with buyers. It’s books, systems, margins, and getting the owner out of the highest-risk seats.
Common, and fixable. Books and records account for roughly half of the deals that fall apart, which is why they get addressed first. Nobody is going to be shocked by your P&L.
That happens regularly. Tightening operations, improving profit, and building a team that doesn’t depend on you makes the business better to own right now. Plenty of owners finish the work and decide to keep it.
It’s a worksheet you score yourself: a rough value estimate, an owner-dependence map, a readiness score out of 24, and a 30/60/90 plan. Nothing is required afterward. Print it, email it to yourself, or send it over if you want a second set of eyes on it.
The focus is owner-operated businesses across Benton and Washington County. Local means Tad can be in your building, which matters for this kind of work.
You’re going to leave this business one way or another. Find out what it’s worth while you still have time to change the answer.