Selling your business isn’t a split-second decision — and the owners who get the best outcomes are the ones who prepare well in advance. In this episode, David and Shaun break down exactly what business owners may want to consider doing in the one to two years before going to market to maximize the value of their business.

They walk through the three main levers every seller should be pulling — cleaning up your business mix, building a strong succession plan, and entering a deal from a position of growth and performance strength — plus the financial housekeeping that makes the whole process smoother: clean books, EBITDA adjustments, and knowing your numbers cold. They also cover the advisers you need in your corner before you ever reach an LOI, and how Redwood thinks about deal readiness through a transaction scorecard.

What actually happens between the first conversation with a buyer and the day the wire hits your account? In this episode, David and Shaun walk through the full deal life cycle — step by step — so owners know exactly what to expect at every stage of the process.

They cover the pre-LOI courting phase, the LOI and exclusivity period, and the three major diligence work streams that kick off after signing: operational, financial, and legal. They break down what a quality of earnings actually is, why disclosure schedules are the most frustrating part of any deal, and what closing actually looks like in the real world (hint: it’s not a big conference table and a stack of papers). Plus, their #1 piece of advice for any seller heading into a transaction.

There are hundreds of buyers in the home services industry — and a lot of them will cut you a check. But knowing who you’re actually doing a deal with could be the most important decision you make. In this episode, David and Shaun break down the two main categories of buyers — financial and strategic — and what owners considering a sale should realistically expect from each one, before and after the deal closes.

They explain what private equity funds, family offices, and search funds are actually looking for, how equity rollovers work and why buyers want sellers to have skin in the game, and why strategic buyers can often pay more — but come with less flexibility and autonomy. And they tackle the million-dollar question every owner should be asking when considering a sale: what should I care about beyond the money?