BRS — Business Readiness Score

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Before we begin

A few things to know

This assessment takes 15–20 minutes. Your answers are saved as you go — if you close the page and return, you'll find everything where you left it. Once you submit, your responses are locked.

There are no right or wrong answers. The BRS is not a test — it is a mirror. Answer for where you actually are today, not where you want to be. The more honest you are, the more useful the picture.

Your name

Business name (optional)

Email address (optional — to receive your report)

Add your email to receive a copy of your BRS report. Optional. No follow-up without your permission.

Your industry / sector (optional)

Track A — Business Health

Dimension 1 of 5

Financial Momentum

What AHV looks for: A business with honest, legible financials and a trajectory a buyer can underwrite.

Buyers and their advisors will look at 3–5 years of financial history. What they want to see is a story they can follow — not perfection, but clarity. A declining business can still sell well if the numbers are honest and the reason for decline is understood.

Over the last 3 years, your business revenues have been:

Growing steadily — each year better than the last Broadly flat — stable but not growing Declining slowly — down but the business is intact Declining sharply — the business is under real pressure

Your self-score: How would you rate this dimension honestly — considering both the numbers and what they tell a buyer?

5/10

0 — Not at all5 — Partially10 — Fully

What does the financial picture look like in your own words? (optional)

What would you want a buyer to understand about the numbers before they see them?

Track A — Business Health

Dimension 2 of 5

Operational Independence

What AHV looks for: A business that can function — and be handed over — without the current owner holding it together.

The most common reason a business sale falls apart is that the business is inseparable from its owner. Buyers pay a premium for a business that runs. They discount heavily — or walk away — when everything depends on one person.

If you stepped away from the business for 3 months tomorrow, it would:

Run well — my team knows what to do and they do it Manage — there would be some gaps but nothing critical Struggle — key decisions and relationships would be missed Not survive — I am the business in most of the ways that matter

Your self-score: How operationally independent is the business from you personally?

5/10

0 — Entirely dependent on me10 — Fully independent

What would break first if you weren't there? (optional)

Track A — Business Health

Dimension 3 of 5

Market Position

What AHV looks for: A business with a defensible position — reasons customers choose it that a new owner can sustain.

A strong market position is not the same as a large market share. A business known for something specific — a product, a relationship, a standard of service — is far more transferable than a business that wins on price or the owner's personal reputation alone.

In your core market over the last 2 years, your business has been:

Gaining ground — growing faster than the market or winning new segments Holding its own — stable position, market itself is healthy Slowly losing ground — competitors are pulling ahead or market is shrinking Under pressure — the market or competition has changed and we haven't kept up

Your self-score: How strong and defensible is your market position for a new owner?

5/10

0 — Very weak10 — Very strong

Why do customers choose you over others? (optional)

Be specific. "Good service" is not a market position. What is the real reason?

Track A — Business Health

Dimension 4 of 5

Customer Quality

What AHV looks for: Customers who will stay after a change of ownership — relationships with the business, not just with the owner.

Customer concentration and relationship depth are two of the first things a serious buyer examines. A business where 60% of revenue comes from two customers — both of whom know the owner personally — is a different risk profile than one with 40 diversified accounts under written contracts.

Your top 3 customers represent approximately what share of revenue?

Under 20% — well diversified 20–40% — reasonable concentration 40–60% — meaningful concentration risk Over 60% — heavily concentrated

Your typical customer relationship is:

Long-term with written contracts or purchase orders Long-term but largely informal — they come back but nothing is signed Mixed — some anchored, some transactional Mostly transactional — repeat business is not guaranteed

Your self-score: How confident are you that your customers would stay through a change of ownership?

5/10

0 — They'd leave with me10 — They'd stay regardless

Is there anything a new owner should know about key customer relationships? (optional)

Track A — Business Health

Dimension 5 of 5

Business Clarity

What AHV looks for: A business that can be understood, documented, and transferred — not one that lives entirely in the owner's head.

Due diligence is the moment when a buyer tries to understand what they are actually buying. Businesses that are hard to explain, have undocumented processes, or where key knowledge lives only in the founder's head — cause delays, price reductions, or abandoned deals.

How well-documented is your business today?

Well-documented — processes, contracts, supplier agreements, IP all in order Reasonably documented — major things are captured, some gaps Partially documented — a lot exists in people's heads, including mine Largely undocumented — if I tried to explain it all tomorrow, it would take months

Your self-score: How ready is your business to survive a rigorous due diligence process?

5/10

0 — It would be very difficult10 — Ready today

What would be hardest to document or transfer about your business? (optional)

This is not a trick question. Honest answers here are more useful than optimistic ones.

Track A complete

Now let's look at you.

The business is one half of the picture. The other half is the person who owns it. Track B asks five questions about your readiness as an owner — not whether you're willing, but whether you're genuinely prepared.

Track B — Owner Readiness

Dimension 1 of 5

Financial Clarity

What AHV looks for: An owner who knows their number — what the sale must deliver, after taxes, for life to look the way they want it to.

Many business owners enter exit conversations without having modelled what they actually need. They know the business is worth "something" — but not whether that something, after tax and after paying off what they owe, is enough. That gap leads to broken deals and regret.

You have a specific number in mind for what the sale must deliver for your family after taxes:

Yes, I know my number — and I've modelled different deal structures to see if I'd reach it I have a rough sense of the number but haven't modelled tax or deal structure properly I know the business should be "worth a lot" but I haven't defined what I specifically need I haven't thought about this in concrete terms

Your self-score: How clearly have you defined what financial success looks like from this transaction?

5/10

0 — No clarity at all10 — Fully clear with modelling done

What does financial success from this transaction look like for you? (optional)

You don't have to share a number. Describe what the money is for — what it enables, what it protects.

Track B — Owner Readiness

Dimension 2 of 5

Post-Exit Vision

What AHV looks for: An owner who has imagined the morning after — who they are and what they do when the business is no longer theirs.

The most common cause of post-sale regret is not financial — it is identity. Founders who have built their purpose, routine, and self-worth around their business often find that the sale, even a successful one, leaves an unexpected emptiness. The owners who transition well are those who knew, before they sold, what they were going towards.

You have a clear picture of what your life looks like in the year after the sale:

Very clear — I have a specific plan for what I'll do, who I'll be, and how my time will be spent Broad idea — I know the general direction but the specifics aren't there yet Starting to think about it — I've had the conversation with myself but haven't landed anywhere I haven't really thought about life after — the business takes all the space

Your self-score: How clearly have you imagined and planned what comes after?

5/10

0 — No picture at all10 — Specific, vivid plan

What does the morning after look like? (optional)

Describe a day in your life one year after the sale. What are you doing? Who are you to yourself?

Track B — Owner Readiness

Dimension 3 of 5

Family Alignment

What AHV looks for: An owner whose family — those who built this with them or depend on it — are part of the conversation, not a surprise waiting at the end.

Exit transactions rarely affect only the owner. Spouses, adult children, parents who worked in the business, siblings who are shareholders — all of these people have a stake. Deals that surface these relationships late are deals that break. Alignment doesn't mean everyone agrees — it means the conversation has happened.

The family members most affected by this decision are:

Fully in the loop — we've discussed this seriously and they're aligned with the direction Aware but not deeply involved — they know I'm thinking about it but we haven't had the real conversation Told but not discussed — I've mentioned it but haven't opened it up properly Not yet told — this is still very much my own thinking

Your self-score: How aligned are the key people in your life with this direction?

5/10

0 — Not told anyone10 — Everyone aligned

Is there anyone in your family or inner circle whose position on this matters and hasn't been resolved? (optional)

Track B — Owner Readiness

Dimension 4 of 5

Advisory Access

What AHV looks for: An owner who has the right team around them — not friends who give opinions, but professionals who understand what this transaction requires.

Exits require three types of specialist: a CA who understands business sale tax implications (not just accounting), a lawyer who has done M&A transactions (not just contracts), and an advisor who understands deal structuring and negotiation from both sides. Most founders go into this process with one of the three, at most.

Today, you have the following advisory support in place for this process:

All three — CA, M&A lawyer, and a transaction advisor who understands deal structuring Two of the three — I have professional support but one gap remains One — I have a trusted CA or lawyer but not a dedicated transaction advisor None in place yet — this process hasn't reached that stage

Your self-score: How well-supported are you by people who have done this kind of transaction before?

5/10

0 — Going it alone10 — Full team in place

What's missing from your advisory team right now? (optional)

Track B — Owner Readiness

Dimension 5 of 5

Emotional Readiness

What AHV looks for: An owner who has genuinely reckoned with what letting go means — not just as a transaction, but as a change to who they are.

This is the dimension most owners underestimate. The decision to sell can feel clear at the intellectual level while the emotional reality hasn't landed. Owners who haven't done this reckoning often pull back during negotiation, re-trade terms, or find reasons to delay — usually at the worst possible moment for everyone involved.

When you imagine walking out of your business on the last day and handing over to a new owner, you feel:

Ready — I've built something I'm proud of and I'm genuinely ready for this next chapter Mostly ready — I know it's right but there's more to work through Conflicted — part of me is ready and part of me isn't Not ready — the idea of letting go is genuinely difficult right now

Your self-score: How emotionally prepared are you for the reality of letting go?

5/10

0 — Not at all prepared10 — Fully at peace with it

What is the one thing about letting go that concerns you most? (optional)

There's no wrong answer here. This is the question most advisors never ask — and it's often the most important one.

Final reflections

Two open questions

These two questions give the BRS its most useful dimension. They aren't scored — they give you and AHV something to think about together.

What would need to be true in the next 12 months for you to feel this is the right time?

Think about the business, your own readiness, and the people around you.

What is the version of this you'd regret most — and why?

The exit you fear most often reveals what matters most to you about how this ends.

Before you decide to sell,understand what you're selling — and who is selling it.

A few things to know

Now let's look at you.

Before you decide to sell,
understand what you're selling — and who is selling it.