The Unspoken TRUTH About Selling Your Business

The Unspoken TRUTH About Selling Your Business

From Tim Stating the Obvious by statingtheobvious

April 8, 2026 · 31 min · Season 7 · Episode 19

About this episode

Tim Staton and Byron McFarland discuss the critical importance of early succession planning for business owners looking to sell their business.

The importance of early succession planning, cannot be overstated for business owners. Tim Staton and Byron McFarland emphasize that starting the process as soon as possible—ideally years in advance—makes a huge difference. Many owners procrastinate until their seventies, but building an exit strategy early helps you get paid properly and maximize the sale value of a business. Byron suggests a three-year lead time for a solid plan that ensures the owner gets compensated, while committing to seven years can secure the full value of a business. This proactive mindset lets owners envision life after the business, reducing delays and emotional hurdles when selling a business. A common pitfall is overestimating your company's worth, often because owners enjoy a lifestyle funded by pre-tax dollars. Normalizing those expenses reveals the true financial picture and impacts how to evaluate value of a business. Key methods include looking at multiples of EBITDA, discounted cash flow, or comparable sales—far beyond just the book value of a business or simple asset tallies. Owners often hear "four times EBITDA" as a benchmark, which might be the ceiling for smaller businesses relying heavily…

People in this episode

Host: Tim Staton

Guest: Byron McFarland

Topics covered

  • succession planning
  • business sale
  • exit strategy
  • valuation methods
  • financial planning

Keywords

  • succession planning
  • business valuation
  • EBITDA
  • exit strategy
  • financial planning

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