Preparing to sell your business will increase the value and marketability of your business when you are ready to sell.  This is often called developing an Exit Strategy, which sounds complicated, however it actually can be fairly straightforward and easy to implement.  Some simple steps to increase the value of your business you can take right now are:

1. Prepare your books and records: make sure your P&L and tax returns accurately reflect the financial performance of your business and all of your owner benefits (expenses) are well documented.
2. Maximize your earnings and sales.
3. Meet with a VR Professional Intermediary to plan your sale well in advance.
4. Meet with your tax advisor to discuss advance tax planning to minimize your taxes from the sale.
5. Prepare your business infrastructure for a future sale: train your staff, document procedures, etc.
6. Customers: diversify your customer base, if possible, if you have any single customer representing more than 20% of your business.
7. Suppliers: diversify your supplier base, if possible, if any single supplier represents more than 20% of your products or inventory.
8. Marketing materials: clean up your marketing materials, develop new materials, this will be the buyers first look at your company's products and services, it will help your business in the mean time as well.
9. Inventory: clean up your inventory, eliminate obsolete and unsellable inventory.
10. Spring cleaning: clean up your premises, make your business look sharp and professional.  This will increase the value, make it look more appealing to prospective buyers, and will help your business image in the mean time.
    

Contact your VR Intermediary to develop a plan to prepare your business for sale and maximize the value of your business.