BY NICK PIRNACK

Building a business is a labor of love. It takes years of late nights, endless problem-solving, and a tremendous amount of grit. Deciding to sell is often one of the most emotional and financially significant milestones in a founder’s life. Over the years, we’ve worked with many business owners navigating this exact transition and seen firsthand that you aren’t just handing over a company, you are passing on your life’s work and stepping into your next great chapter.

In 2026, the landscape of buying and selling businesses is shifting. While there are plenty of active buyers with money to spend, they are incredibly cautious. To help position your business for a potential sale, early and thoughtful preparation is everything.

What Buyers Are Looking for Today

In our view, today’s marketplace reflects a “flight to safety” with buyers placing greater emphasis on resilient businesses that operate effectively through changing conditions.

With many retiring owners putting their companies up for sale today, buyers can afford to be picky. They will spot operational weaknesses quickly but will likely place greater value on a business with predictable income and solid internal processes. To stand out, your business needs to look like a turn-key operation.

For example, buyers often look for a diverse customer base — ideally where no single client makes up too large a chunk of your total sales. More importantly, they look at how tied the owner is to the daily operations. If your business struggles to run smoothly when you take a two-week vacation, buyers view that as a major risk. As a result, they might offer a lower price or require you to stay on as an employee for years to ensure the company survives without you.

How We Can Help You Prepare

This is where having an experienced guide makes a world of difference. Through our work at LotusGroup Advisors, we merge personal wealth management with specialized exit planning to help business owners systematically remove those risks long before a buyer ever looks at the company.

When preparing for an exit, we focus on a few key areas to help position you for a successful sale:

• Empowering Your Team: We help you map out a strategy to transition your key client relationships and daily management duties to a capable leadership team. Showing a buyer that the company’s success doesn’t rest entirely on your shoulders addresses one of the biggest hurdles to a great sale.

• Highlighting True Value: We collaborate with your accountant to organize your financial records. By clearly separating personal owner perks from core business expenses, we help organize financial information so buyers can better understand the business’s financial profile.  

• Knowing Your “Walk-Away” Number: Long before you list your business, we help you calculate exactly how much money you need to take home after taxes to fund the life you want post-sale. Knowing your specific target number can provide a clearer framework for evaluating potential offers.

• Planning for Taxes Early: We coordinate with your legal and tax professionals to structure your wealth efficiently well in advance of the sale, aiming to help you preserve more of what you’ve worked so hard to build.

Preparation completely changes the experience of selling. An unprepared owner often faces a stressful, drawn-out review process by the buyer, which can lead to deal fatigue and a surprisingly high tax bill. A guided, educational approach helps create a highly organized process that typically results in a smoother transition and peace of mind.

Selling your business requires looking at your life’s work through a different lens. If you have a business you are positioning to sell, I’m happy to create a transition plan that is designed to protect your wealth and secure your family’s legacy.

Nick Pirnack, CEPA®

Partner, Senior Advisor

LotusGroup Advisors

LotusGroup Advisors, LLC is a SEC-registered investment adviser. Registration does not imply a certain level of skill or training. The information presented is for informational purposes only and should not be construed as personalized investment, tax, legal, or accounting advice. Business valuations, transaction terms, tax consequences, and other outcomes will vary based on individual circumstances. Tax laws are subject to change, and individuals should consult their financial, tax, and legal professionals before implementing any strategy.