The Owner Shift · Will It Even Sell? (6Q)

You want out someday. Would it even sell?

Most small businesses listed for sale never find a buyer. This is a six-question diagnostic for owners who'd rather know the truth now than discover it the year they try to leave. Three minutes. An honest number. No hype, no upsell.

Take the 6-Question Check ↓ Back to The Owner Shift

Free. No credit card. You'll see your score and the full read right here on the page — nothing to wait for in an inbox.

Why this exists

Most owners find out their business won't sell at the worst possible time.

They decide they're done — a knee gives out, a spouse says "enough," a birthday with a big number on it — and they call a broker expecting a number that matches thirty years of work. Then they learn the truth: roughly four out of five small businesses that go to market never sell, and the ones that do rarely fetch what the owner had in his head.

I've spent 40 years inside family-owned companies, and I've watched good people walk away from real businesses with almost nothing — not because the business was bad, but because it was never built to be handed to anyone else. It ran on them. The books were a mess. The value lived in a handshake and a reputation that couldn't be sold.

The six questions below won't flatter you. They'll tell you whether what you've built would actually transfer — and if not, exactly where it's stuck. That's a far better thing to know at the start than at the closing table.

The Check

Six questions. One honest answer.

What you'll get

A number, a six-part read, and the three things to fix first.

Sellability isn't one thing — it's six: whether the business runs without you, whether the books would survive a buyer's accountant, whether the value transfers or walks out with you, whether there's a real buyer at a real price, whether the sale gets you to your number, and whether you and your spouse know what life looks like on the other side.

You'll see your headline score the second you finish. Add your name and email and the full read — your score across all six dimensions, and the three I'd fix first if I were in your seat — opens right there on the page. You can print it or save it. And you'll get my Sunday letter, where the deeper how-to lives.

Low scores aren't a problem. Almost everything that drags this number down is fixable, and the fixing is the same work that finally sets you free. Pretending the number's higher than it is — that's the problem.

Frequently asked (actual) questions

A few things worth knowing before you start.

No. You'll get your results, then one email a week from me called The Fultz Factor. Unsubscribe anytime. If I ever make you an offer, it'll be one — directly, no countdown timers — and only if what you tell me says there's a fit.
The score is yours the moment you finish — no email needed for that. The email puts the full read in front of you on the page, gets you a copy you can print or save, and puts you on the Sunday letter where the deeper how-to lives. Fair trade for something this useful.
Put you on the Fultz Factor list. That's it. I don't sell it, rent it, trade it, or share it. I built this list the slow way on purpose.
Yes — separately. The gap between your two scores is usually the most honest conversation you'll have all year. That's what the Bottleneck Score is built for, and it pairs well with this one.
Then you found out now instead of at the closing table, which is the whole point. You'll get an honest email about what it means and what I'd do about it. Low isn't a verdict — it's a starting line.

Last word

Three minutes now beats a hard truth at the closing table.

You built it. You deserve to know whether it would hand off clean — and if it won't yet, exactly what stands in the way. No hype. No pressure. Just the honest number.

— Steve

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