For Business Owners Planning an Exit
Sell Your Business on Your Terms, and Keep More of What You Built
You spent years building your business. The sale is the biggest financial moment of your life. We help you build its value, get it sale-ready and plan for the tax bill, so you walk away with more and nobody takes a cut of your life's work.
The Good Business the Market Forgot
If you own a solid, profitable small business, you're in an awkward spot when it's time to sell. Investment bankers and M&A firms want bigger deals. Many business brokers charge 8 to 10 percent of the sale price, list the business and wait for a buyer, with little help getting it ready. And almost nobody is looking at what the IRS will take when the deal closes.
That's how good businesses end up selling for less than they're worth, or never selling at all.
"I don't know what my business is worth."
Most owners have never seen their numbers the way a buyer will. Without a defensible number, you have nothing to push back with when the first offer comes in low.
"I'm afraid of due diligence."
Buyers dig into everything: your books, your leases, your contracts, your customers. Surprises found late kill deals or cut the price.
"The tax bill will eat my proceeds."
How a sale is structured can change what you keep after tax by a large amount. Most of those decisions have to be made before the deal is signed, not after.
Three Things Decide What You Walk Away With
Value
Buyers pay for profit that will keep coming after you leave. Growing profit and making the business less dependent on you raises the price. That's what the Profit Pilot 7-Lever System is built to do.
Readiness
Clean books, a defensible valuation and organized records make a business easier to buy and harder to discount. A buyer-ready business sells faster and with fewer surprises.
Tax
The structure of your sale affects how much of the price you keep. Planning the tax side years ahead gives you options that disappear once a buyer is at the table.
The Best Time to Plan Your Exit Is Before You Need To
Every exit runs on a timeline. The earlier you start, the more options you have.
3 to 5 Years Out: Build Value
Grow profit one lever at a time, reduce how much the business depends on you, and get your books clean and current. Start planning the tax side now, while you have the most room to act.
1 to 2 Years Out: Get Sale-Ready
Know your real number. Recast your financials, find and fix the issues a buyer would find, organize your records and set your tax strategy for the sale.
The Sale Year: Sell and Keep More
Go to market with a buyer-ready package, handle due diligence with confidence and close with a tax plan already in place.
Business Sale in a Box
Everything you need to sell your business well, built with you, for a flat fee. No commission.
Business Sale in a Box is our done-with-you program for owners who are ready to sell. We handle the high-stakes work that takes real expertise: your financial recast, your valuation range and your exit tax planning. Our system handles the heavy lifting on everything else, so you can watch your sale package come together without hiring a team.
What's in the box
Recast financials and true earnings. Your profit restated the way buyers and lenders measure it, with every adjustment documented.
A defensible valuation range. Based on your earnings and your assets, so you know your number before anyone makes an offer.
Exit tax planning. How the sale is structured and allocated, and what that means for what you keep after tax.
A deal-killer scan. We look for the issues that sink deals late, such as lease terms, personal guarantees and contracts that can't transfer, so you can fix them early.
An organized data room. Your documents gathered and organized the way a buyer's due diligence team expects to see them.
A buyer-ready package. A professional business summary and sale materials, ready for you to list on marketplaces like BizBuySell or to share with a broker.
A confidential inquiry kit. A blind business profile and an NDA process, so you can talk to serious buyers without telling the world you're selling.
How It Works
1
Free Tax Strategy Fit Call
30 minutes by video with Jeff to find out whether working together is a fit for you, and what the next step would be.
2
Readiness Review
We look at your business the way a buyer will and give you an honest picture of where it stands and what it would take to sell well.
3
We Build the Box Together
We do the expert work. You answer questions and supply documents, and your sale package comes together step by step.
4
You Sell, and You Keep the Commission
You stay in control of your sale, with the package, the numbers and the tax plan you need to go to market with confidence.
Do You Need a Business Broker?
Sometimes, yes. A good broker can bring buyers to the table and manage a sale for owners who don't want to. But a broker is paid to sell your business, typically 8 to 10 percent of the price. On a hypothetical $500,000 sale, that's $40,000 to $50,000. Brokers are not paid to make your business more valuable before the sale, and they're not tax advisors.
We are not a business broker, and we never take a commission. We help you prepare, so you can decide how to sell: on your own, to someone you already know, or with a broker who's working with a buyer-ready business instead of a pile of shoeboxes.
(Hypothetical example for illustration only.)
There's More Than One Way Out
Selling to an outside buyer is only one option. We'll help you understand the tax side of each one.
Sell to an Outside Buyer
A competitor, an individual buyer or an investor buys the business.
Sell to Your Team
A key employee or your management team buys you out over time.
Pass It to Family
Transfer the business to the next generation, with a plan for taxes and fairness.
Keep It and Step Back
Build the business to run without you and keep the income. Not every exit is a sale.
Is This a Fit for You?
This is built for:
Owners of established, profitable small businesses with real earnings.
Owners who want to sell in the next one to five years, or who want to keep their options open.
Owners who want to keep more of the sale price instead of paying a large commission.
Owners who want a clear picture of the tax bill before they say yes to an offer.
Probably not a fit if:
The business is losing money and needs a turnaround first.
You want someone else to find a buyer and run the entire sale for you. In that case, a full-service broker may fit you better.
Meet Jeff Kikel
Jeff Kikel, ChFC, CRPC, ATA, is the founder of Profit Pilot Tax and Financial Services. He has more than 30 years in financial planning, has spent more than 15 years focused on business-owner exits, and has built and sold multiple businesses of his own. He is the author of more than 20 books, including The Business Owners Retirement Blueprint.
Frequently Asked Questions
When should I start planning my exit?
Ideally three to five years before you want to sell. That gives you time to raise the value of the business and plan the tax side while you still have the most options. But it's never too late to get sale-ready.Are you a business broker?
No. We don't list your business or take a commission on the sale. We help you build value, get sale-ready and plan the tax side, so you can sell on your own, list on marketplaces like BizBuySell, sell to a buyer you already know, or work with a broker if you choose.How much does Business Sale in a Box cost?
Business Sale in a Box is a flat fee, with no commission on your sale. We'll walk through the cost and whether it fits your situation on your Fit Call.Can you tell me what my business is worth?
Yes. As part of Business Sale in a Box, we recast your financials and build a defensible valuation range based on your earnings and assets, so you know your number before you talk to a buyer.How do taxes on a business sale work?
It depends on how the sale is structured, how the price is allocated across the assets of the business and how your business is organized. Those choices can change what you keep after tax, and many of them need to be made before the deal is signed. We plan the tax side with you as part of the process.What happens on the Fit Call?
It's a free 30-minute video call with Jeff to find out whether working together is a fit for you, and what the next step would be.
Your Business Is Your Biggest Asset. Plan Its Exit Like It.
Start with the free guide, or book a 30-minute Fit Call to see whether we're a fit.
Educational content based on federal tax law as of 2026. Not tax, legal or investment advice for your situation. Profit Pilot Tax and Financial Services is not a business broker and does not receive a commission on the sale of any business. Any dollar figures are hypothetical and for illustration only. Results depend on your business and the terms of your sale.