The truth is that the best time to prepare for your exit is while you’re still in growth mode, especially in the 3 years before you want to sell. Why the first 3 years? Because that’s when your decisions have the highest impact on your eventual sale price.
This blog post unpacks how to use the 3-Year Rule to drive serious value without slowing down. It’s built entirely on the Exit Value Multiplier Framework I use with my private clients and inside my free Skool community. If you plan to sell in the next 36 months, or might want the option, read this now! It could be worth millions.
Why the 3-Year Window Is Where the Magic Happens
I’ve worked with dozens of owners in the final stages of building and exiting.
And I’ve seen two patterns:
- Those who prepared 3 years out walked away with premium valuations, clean deals, and options.
- Those who didn’t? They scrambled, settled, or lost leverage when buyers poked holes.
Here’s Why The 3-Year Rule Works So Well
Most of the biggest value drivers, like recurring revenue, management strength, and financial clarity, can’t be slapped together in 60 days. But within 36 months, you can build serious momentum while still growing. When done right, the prep process doesn’t just help your sale. It makes the business more profitable today.
Your 3-Year Exit Prep Using the Exit Value Multiplier Framework
Here’s exactly what to focus on, based on my Exit Value Multiplier Toolkit.
We break it into three phases, using the 9 Core Multipliers that drive value in every deal.
Year 1: Stabilize and Clean Up
This is your foundation year. The goal is to make the business easier to understand, run, and trust. Buyers aren’t just looking at your P&L. They’re measuring risk. Reduce it, and you increase your multiple.
- Clean up your books. Invest in a deal-savvy accountant. Separate personal expenses.
- Create dashboards to track KPIs that buyers will ask about.
- Start shifting client and operational reliance away from yourself.
- Document your processes with Loom videos or simple SOPs.
- Address any messy client or supplier contracts. Are they transferable?
Focus Multipliers:
- Financial Clarity
- Operational Efficiency
- Owner Independence
Year 2: Systematize and De-Risk
This is where you move from stable to scalable. Buyers don’t just buy businesses. They buy momentum. This is where you create it.
- Transition to recurring or repeatable revenue wherever possible.
- Reduce dependency on a handful of clients. No more than 20 percent of revenue from one source.
- Invest in your second layer of leadership. Buyers pay more for teams, not solo heroes.
- Build systems that allow others to sell, deliver, and support without you.
- Start forecasting revenue with confidence. Prove it with your pipeline data.
Focus Multipliers:
- Recurring Revenue
- Client Diversity
- Management Team Strength
Year 3: Position and Maximize
This is the fun part, but only if you’ve done the work before it. At this stage, you’re not just running a business. You’re curating an asset that investors will fight over.
- Clarify Your Exit Story: Why your business is valuable, why now, and why it’s a fit for strategic buyers.
- Get a Real-World Valuation: Use it as a scorecard to guide final year improvements.
- Build a Pipeline of Buyer Types: Strategic, financial, PE-backed, etc.
- Assemble Your A-Team: Advisor, accountant, attorney, broker.
- Create Competition: One buyer means no leverage.
- Start Thinking About Marketing Your Business Like a Product: What’s the dream outcome for a buyer?
Focus Multipliers:
- Market Position
- Exit Storyline
- Deal Readiness
The Most Common Exit Prep Myths That Still Cost Owners Millions
Let’s debunk a few myths that might be holding you back:
- “I’ll fix it when I’m ready to sell.”: Too late. You won’t have time, and you’ll be reacting instead of driving.
- “I don’t have time to prep. I’m still growing.”: Perfect. This prep accelerates growth. The Toolkit is designed to build value while you scale.
- “I’ll just hire someone when I’m close.”: Exit planning is not an event; it’s a process. Hired guns can’t manufacture value that doesn’t exist.
Want to Know Where You Stand?
This is why I created the Exit Value Multiplier Toolkit. It’s not fluff. It’s a simple, powerful framework that shows you:
- What buyers care about
- Where your business is strong or weak
- What to fix in what order to double or triple your valuation
It’s what I use in every private client engagement. And now you can access it for free.
Bottom Line: The Exit Is Won or Lost Before You Go to Market
If you’re planning to sell in 3 or more years, you’re in the perfect window. If you’re planning to sell sooner, the clock is ticking louder than you think. Either way, start now. You don’t have to pause growth, you just have to grow with intention. The Exit Value Multipliers let you do exactly that.
Your Next Step
If you want to get clear on where your business stands and what it would take to create a premium exit, let’s talk.
Book an Exit Clarity Call with me, and we’ll walk through your timeline, priorities, and the specific levers that will drive your value. No fluff. No sales pitch. Just clarity and a path forward.
Or, if you’re earlier in your business journey, join my free Skool Community, The Business Exit Blueprint, for business owners who want to quietly start preparing for a sale down the road without sacrificing growth. It’s where I share the strategies, tools, and thinking that actually move the needle.
In each case, don’t forget to ask me about your free copy of the Exit Value Multiplier Toolkit.
Here is what you need to know — you don’t need to be ready to sell, but you do need to be ready to build a business that buyers will want.
Start now. Future-you will thank you.
