CHANCE or CHOICE: Your Move
- rwelke1
- 1 day ago
- 3 min read
Every business owner will exit their company one day: voluntarily or involuntarily. The only real question is whether it will happen by CHOICE or by CHANCE.
The reality is that over 75% of business sales are initiated by chance, not by choice. That choice to sell is made for them by chance: Death or Disability of the owner, Disagreement between co-owners, Divorce, or simply Dissolution (company fails or shuts down).
As an owner, you actually have a choice: will you sell on your terms, or someone else’s? Will you walk away with the wealth you built, or with regrets about what could have been?
The Inevitable Exit
More than 75% of Canadian small business owners plan to exit within the next 5 - 10 years. Yet, according to national studies, the vast majority have no formal plan, no defined timeline, and no idea what their business is truly worth. They’re too busy working in the business to step back and work on it. When the time comes to exit, they often do so reactively—triggered by health concerns, burnout, partner disputes, or unsolicited offers.
This is the path of chance, and it rarely leads to optimal outcomes.
What It Means to Choose
When you prepare your business for sale by choice, you do so with intention. You identify your goals. You understand the value drivers of your business. You align your team, your financials, and your operations to increase enterprise value and reduce risk. You’re not waiting for someone to knock on your door, you build a business that will:
· attract the right buyer,
· on the right terms,
· at the right time,
· for the right money.
This is what the most successful owners do. They see the sale of their business not as an event, but as a process, one that may take years to fully realize, but one that ensures they are ready when opportunity strikes.
Why Chance Is a Risky Plan
Waiting until you’re “ready to sell” or assuming your accountant or broker will “take care of it when the time comes” is not a plan – it is a gamble. You never know when you might have to sell or whether you will be able to sell on your terms.
Here’s what CHANCE often looks like:
Receiving a below-market offer and feeling pressured to accept,
Discovering too late that your business is over-dependent on you,
Realizing your financial records can’t support your asking price,
Learning the market doesn’t value your business the way you do, and/or
Having no succession plan in place when you’re forced to exit.
These outcomes don’t just impact your financial future, they affect your employees, your customers, and your legacy.
The Case for Choosing Now
Preparing for a future sale, even if you're not planning to sell anytime soon, is one of the most strategic and financially sound decisions a business owner can make. Why? Because exit readiness is not just about the endgame, it's about building a better business today. Early preparation gives you control over your timeline, expands your options, and reduces your risk. You’ll be equipped to seize unexpected opportunities, like an unsolicited offer or a strategic acquisition, and better protected against unforeseen events, such as health issues, market shifts, or economic downturns. When you're prepared, you're not reacting to circumstances, you are orchestrating your outcome.
A proactive strategy includes more than just putting numbers in order, it’s about transforming the business into a high-performing, transferable asset. This is where Value Acceleration comes in: aligning business, personal, and financial goals to grow enterprise value with purpose. It involves investing in succession planning so that your business isn’t dependent on you. It means elevating your leadership team to take full ownership of operations, improving decision-making speed, accountability, and overall resilience. And it includes operational streamlining: eliminating inefficiencies, standardizing processes, and documenting key systems to increase scalability and buyer confidence.
You Don’t Have to Navigate This Alone
Engaging a Certified Exit Planning or Value Acceleration Advisor can make the difference between a good exit and a great one. These professionals help you build a roadmap tailored to your goals, address risks before they become obstacles, and turn your company into a transferrable, investment-ready asset.
The Final Word: It’s Your Business, But Not Forever
At some point, you will leave. The only question is how. Will you make the choice, or leave it to chance?
The time to prepare isn’t someday, it’s today. Because the best exits are planned, not improvised.
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