Before you take a meeting

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• A personal plan that does not depend on the businessRetirement income, health insurance, and what you will do on a Tuesday.
• Trailing twelve-month numbers a stranger can followMonthly P&L, not a shoebox. Buyers and their agents will ask for this first.
• Add-backs written down, with a receipt behind each onePersonal expenses, one-time legal, owner compensation above market.
• Customer concentration you can explain without flinchingIf one account is more than 20% of revenue, say so before they find it.
• Key people named, and a thought about who staysA stay bonus sketched on paper is better than a promise in the hallway.
• Your weekly role written in plain languageWhat breaks if you leave for a month. This is the succession document.
• Lease, deed, or a landlord who will talk to a buyerMany New England deals stall on a building, not on the P&L.
• Licenses and permits that can transferTrade, food, childcare, marine — name the one that is personal to you.
• Tax returns that match the booksIf they do not, fix that before a quality-of-earnings reviewer does.
• One reason for sale, told the same way every timeRetirement is a fine reason. A shifting story is not.
• An attorney and a CPA who have sold a business beforeThe directory lists sample desks. Hire real ones before you sign anything.
• A walk-away price and a season you want to be doneAgents can negotiate inside a range. They should not invent your floor.