What would you like to work through?

Start with what brought you here. Each guide gives you something to check and points to further reading or help.

Something isn’t working

We’re profitable, so where did the cash go?

Marketing and the right customers

I want something to change

When the business depends on you

Business value and transferability

I’m weighing a decision

Changing your role or ownership

Choosing what to improve first

What should I improve first?

Start with the result you need and what is preventing it. More leads, more equipment, and another manager could all be useful. Their value depends on what the business can put to work now and what needs to happen first.

Tools we might use: a map of how work moves, a cash and capacity review, or a whole-business diagnostic.

Read more: Where should the next dollar go?

Use the guide to choose what to improve first

We’re growing. Are we becoming more valuable?

Growing revenue can create value when the additional business earns enough to justify the capital and risk it requires. More sales can also absorb cash, stretch delivery, and leave the owner with more work. Look at what the growth is doing to the whole business.

Tools we might use: working-capital analysis, customer and job economics, or diagnostic valuation.

Read more: Your business is growing. Is it becoming more valuable?

Why does everything still come back to me?

Trace three recent escalations. Did people lack information, authority, practice, or time? Choose one recurring decision, agree on a decision limit and an escalation rule, and see what changes.

Can I take a month off?

List what would stop if you were unavailable, including customer commitments, approvals, and emergencies. Try a short planned absence with emergency coverage and track what still comes back to you.

Can I afford someone to take over part of my job?

Name the responsibilities you want to hand off. Compare an internal handoff, part-time help, and a full hire. Estimate the cash cost under ordinary and weaker sales. Keep the value of freed time separate from cash savings.

See what makes a business depend on its owner

Can I step back and still own the business?

You can plan to change your operating role while retaining an ownership interest. What makes that workable depends on who takes over the responsibilities, how decisions are governed, and whether the business can keep performing with your involvement changed.

Tools we might use: a role-succession plan, governance and decision rights, or personal and business planning coordination.

Read more: Explore transferability while you still own the business

Compare changing your role, your ownership, or both

What is my business worth—and what could change it?

A useful value discussion explains the cash flow, capabilities, risks, and assumptions behind the number. Then you can examine which changes might improve the business, what they would require, and how to check the result. Diagnostic estimates depend on the information and assumptions used; a buyer’s offer also depends on that buyer and the transaction terms.

Tools we might use: financial and operating evidence review, diagnostic intrinsic valuation, or improvement scenarios.

Read more: See what the Value Opportunity Profile helps you examine