The Transition Readiness Assessment tells you exactly where your business stands, what a buyer or successor would see, and what to fix before a transition — while there’s still time to fix it.
You know your business is profitable. What you might not know is whether it’s transferable. Most owner-led businesses carry hidden risks — owner dependency, concentration, undocumented processes — that feel normal day to day but surface fast in diligence or a leadership handoff.
Schedule a free conversationIt’s not a valuation. It’s not a pitch for a deal. It’s a clear-eyed look at how your business actually runs, how it would hold up in a transition, and where you have the most leverage to improve. Here’s what happens:
We talk through your business, your financials, your operations, your team, your structure, and your goals for a transition. We ask hard questions. We want to understand the machine — not just the revenue.
We analyze your financials, benchmark your operations, assess leadership depth, and identify the real constraints — looking at the business the way a buyer, lender, or successor would.
Where your business is strong, what creates transition risk, what needs to improve and why, and a concrete roadmap: what to fix, in what order, and what it means for value.
We walk you through the findings, answer your questions, and talk about priorities and sequencing — what’s realistic given your team, timeline, and goals.
Can the business run without you?
Why it matters: if the business depends on you, it’s hard to sell, hard to hand off, and priced at a discount.
Who’s ready to lead when you step back?
Why it matters: buyers and next-generation successors both need a team that runs without the founder.
Can you explain your profitability, and will your numbers hold up in diligence?
Why it matters: fuzzy financials slow deals, lower valuations, and stall internal transitions.
How durable is revenue if a major customer leaves?
Why it matters: concentration is the first risk every buyer models — and a real threat to any successor.
Are key processes documented, or do they live in people’s heads?
Why it matters: documented operations transfer. Tribal knowledge doesn’t.
Are roles, decision rights, and accountability clear?
Why it matters: a business that reorganizes around whatever’s urgent is hard to hand to anyone.
Are you managing margins or reacting to them?
Why it matters: stable, explainable margins build buyer confidence and successor credibility.
Can you attract and keep the people the business will need after you?
Why it matters: the team is what a buyer buys and what a successor inherits.
Any landmines — licensing, contracts, compliance gaps?
Why it matters: surprises found in diligence cost more than problems fixed beforehand.
What are your realistic paths — sale, family, management buyout, recapitalization?
Why it matters: knowing your options early keeps you from being forced into the only one left.
Where your business stands across ten readiness areas, what’s working well, what creates risk, and priority improvements ranked by impact and effort.
What to fix first, second, and third. Realistic timelines and dependencies. Who needs to be involved. Key milestones and checkpoints.
We walk through the findings, answer your questions, and discuss priorities and next steps — including whether ongoing advisory makes sense.
Use it to guide your own decisions, share it with your CPA, attorney, or banker, or make it the working plan for an advisory engagement. It’s yours either way.
Pricing depends on the size and complexity of your business — we’ll give you an exact quote on the 20-minute call. You’ll receive a short prep list of financial and operational information before we start.
The interview is 2–3 hours (sometimes split into two calls). Analysis takes us 1–2 weeks. You’ll have a written report and a clarifying call after that.
That’s fine. The assessment is yours. Some owners use it to guide their own decisions. Some share it with advisors — CPAs, attorneys, bankers. It’s valuable on its own.
Then you’ll know what to work on, and you’ll have a clear roadmap. That’s the point. Most owners would rather find problems now than have a buyer find them in diligence.
Absolutely. We sign an NDA. What we learn stays between us — your team doesn’t need to know you’re exploring a transition unless you want them to.
We can still help, but your timeline is tight. You may be better served by focused advisory on the most urgent gaps than a full assessment. Let’s talk about what’s realistic.
That’s exactly what the assessment is built for. Readiness matters just as much in a family or internal transition — arguably more, because your successor inherits whatever isn’t fixed.
Let’s start with a 20-minute conversation about your business and your situation. No pressure. No sales pitch. Just a straightforward discussion about whether this makes sense for you right now.
Schedule a free conversationQuestions first? Email inquiry@bnhcollective.com and we’ll answer what you want to know.