Exit Planning
Prepare your business for a smooth, confident transition
Exit Planning is a structured, multi-domain preparation process that strengthens valuation, reduces risk, and makes your business easier to transfer. Whether you plan to sell in one year or three, the work you do now shapes how buyers perceive your business and how smoothly the transition unfolds.
Good Apple’s CEPA-certified team helps owners understand where their business stands today, what buyers will evaluate, and what changes will have the greatest impact before a sale.
What is Exit Planning, really?
Most businesses are unprepared for transition, because the business has been built to support the owner, not a future buyer.
Exit Planning creates the runway between those two realities. It focuses on strengthening the fundamentals buyers care about most: clear financials, resilient operations, defined roles, reduced dependency on the owner, and confidence that the business will continue to perform after a transition.
This work does not rush you toward a sale. It gives you clarity, leverage, and options.
Smart Businesses Sell
Exit Planning is not separate from running a strong business. It is the result of running one intelligently.
Good Apple uses the Smart Business Framework to assess and strengthen your company across five core domains: Money & Metrics, People & Productivity, Direction & Decisions, Offering & Operations, and Reputation & Reach. Gaps in these areas are often the same issues that reduce valuation, slow due diligence, or derail deals.
Operating with clarity, discipline, and structure is what makes a business transferable. Exit Planning simply applies that lens with intention and timing.
Analyzing Exit Preparedness
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Seller & Business Readiness
We assess how prepared the owner and the business are for a transition.
This includes clarity around goals and timing, financial expectations, decision readiness, and the owner’s desired role after a sale. On the business side, we look at whether systems, leadership, and reporting can support a transition without disruption.
Readiness determines whether it’s the right time to move forward — or whether preparation will meaningfully improve outcomes.
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Business Attractiveness
We evaluate how compelling the business is from a buyer’s perspective.
This includes financial quality, risk exposure, operational stability, leadership depth, and market positioning. We look for the drivers that support confidence, continuity, and sustainable performance — as well as the issues that can reduce value or limit buyer interest.
Attractiveness influences valuation, buyer pool, and deal structure.
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Market Feasibility
We assess whether a transaction is realistically achievable in the current market.
This includes buyer demand, financing conditions, likely deal structures, valuation alignment, and timing considerations. A strong business with a ready owner still needs a viable path to market to result in a successful transaction.
Feasibility helps determine what kind of deal is possible — and when.
Built to work with your existing team
Exit Planning works best when advisors are aligned. We regularly coordinate with your CPA, attorney, and other trusted professionals. If you do not yet have an advisory team in place, we can recommend experienced professionals aligned with your goals and stage of business.
Our role is to bring structure, clarity, and coordination so your advisors can do their best work.
What does Exit Planning include?
Exit planning helps owners understand where they stand today and what will matter most in a future transition. It brings structure, clarity, and direction to what is often an uncertain process.
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We assess owner readiness, business readiness, and market feasibility to understand whether — and how — a transition should move forward.
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A full-business assessment across strategy, operations, people, financials, and visibility to surface gaps, risks, and opportunities.
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Cleanup and normalization of financials to improve clarity, credibility, and buyer confidence.
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Identification of the factors that increase valuation — and those that create friction, discounting, or deal risk.
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Review and cleanup of key contracts, documentation, and operational systems that affect transferability.
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Clarifying leadership roles, responsibilities, and dependencies to reduce owner reliance and continuity risk.
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Targeted improvements to processes, systems, and execution that meaningfully improve readiness and attractiveness.
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Assessment of market presence, brand perception, and visibility factors that influence buyer interest.
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Clear recommendations to address operational, financial, and structural risks that commonly derail transactions.
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A realistic roadmap outlining timing, sequencing, and priorities for preparing the business for exit.
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Guidance on whether to proceed with preparation, pause to address gaps, or move toward listing.
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When appropriate, a clear transition into brokerage services with continuity and context.
Our Process
Step 1: Initial Consultation
Step 2: Readiness and Business Assessment
We evaluate your business through the Smart Business Framework, measuring owner readiness and business attractiveness.
We learn your goals, timeline, priorities, and concerns. This conversation helps determine fit and the most appropriate path forward.
Step 4: Transition Roadmap
Step 3: Preparation and Value-Building
You receive a clear plan outlining timing, priorities, and when to move into brokerage or next-stage support if appropriate.
We identify the changes that matter most and support implementation to reduce risk and strengthen value.
Exit Planning Paths
Both paths are designed to meet you where you are and build momentum without unnecessary disruption. Choose the pace that suits your business and goals.
90-Day Exit Planning Cycle
Designed for owners who want to make focused, meaningful progress in structured phases. Each 90-day cycle includes assessment, prioritization, and guided implementation aligned with your exit timeline.
$5000
Sprint Summit Exit Planning
A concentrated, high-impact option for owners who want clarity quickly. The Sprint Summit delivers a comprehensive readiness assessment, valuation insights, risk identification, and a detailed transition roadmap in a short time frame. Ideal for owners approaching a decision point.
$7500
Preparation Changes Outcomes
Owners who prepare early experience smoother transactions, stronger valuations, fewer surprises, and greater confidence throughout the process. Many also discover that exit preparation improves performance and quality of life even if they ultimately delay or reconsider a sale.
Is Exit Planning for me?
If you identify with the bullets below, it might be the right time to start planning.
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You may want to sell within the next 12 to 36 months
You want clarity on when to start and how long preparation actually takes
You want to create options before committing to a transaction
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You want to increase value before listing
You want to reduce risk before due diligence
You want to understand what buyers will evaluate and why
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You want stronger leadership and clearer roles
You want better financial transparency and reporting
You want a business that operates with less owner dependency
Frequently Asked Questions
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No. Exit Planning helps clarify timing based on readiness, market conditions, and personal goals.
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Yes. We coordinate closely with existing advisors or recommend professionals if needed.
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Not always, but all businesses benefit from preparation before listing, so it’s often a good idea! Sometimes we run Exit Planning and listing the business in parallel paths, when timelines are tight.
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Most engagements span 60 to 120 days, depending on the chosen path and business complexity. We do have a Sprint Summit option for owners who are very organized and ready to give focused attention to planning.
Prepare for a confident transition
We will help you understand where your business stands today, what matters most to buyers, and the clearest path toward a successful sale.