Are You Making This Mistake? – Why 80% of Small Businesses NEVER Sell
E273: Are You Making This Mistake? – Why 80% of Small Businesses NEVER Sell - Watch Here
The Brutal Truth About Selling Small Businesses – A Conversation with Mike Finger
The Short Take
Most small business owners believe they’ll sell their business whenever they’re ready. The harsh reality? Most businesses don’t sell. In this eye-opening episode, Mike Finger, founder of Exit Oasis, sits down with Ron Skelton to expose the myths around small business exits. With personal experience transitioning from burned-out owner to successful seller, Mike breaks down the three fundamental questions every owner must answer to create a sellable business. This conversation is a wake-up call for entrepreneurs who assume their business is ready for sale—when in reality, it may not be sellable at all.
Key Takeaways
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Most businesses never sell – The industry loves success stories, but the real numbers show that most owners fail to transition their businesses.
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Sellability starts long before you decide to sell – Owners should focus on making their businesses ownable first. If you can step away without the business collapsing, it’s far more attractive to buyers.
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Three critical questions determine sellability – Does your business generate desirable results? Can a buyer duplicate those results? Can you document those results?
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Tax strategies can sabotage sellability – Owners who “minimize” profits for tax purposes are also minimizing the value buyers see in their business.
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Buyers want proof, not promises – Handshake deals and back-of-the-napkin accounting don’t inspire confidence. If it’s not on your tax return, it doesn’t exist to a buyer.
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Cash-heavy businesses raise red flags – Many owners say, “a lot of cash walks in the door.” Buyers hear: “I don’t report my real income.” If you want top dollar, run a clean operation.
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You can’t replace decades of knowledge overnight – Many buyers overestimate their ability to replace an owner who has spent years mastering their business. Experience matters.
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Start preparing now, not when you’re burned out – Most owners wait too long to think about an exit, and by the time they’re desperate to sell, they’ve already devalued their business.
About the Host
Ron Skelton is an acquisition entrepreneur, investor, and the mind behind How2Exit, a leading podcast exploring business acquisitions. With hundreds of interviews under his belt, he’s passionate about demystifying small business sales and helping both buyers and sellers navigate the world of M&A.
About the Guest
Mike Finger is the founder of Exit Oasis, a platform dedicated to helping small business owners prepare for successful exits. A former business owner himself, he learned the hard way that not every business is sellable. After a wake-up call from brokers who told him his company wasn’t worth buying, he spent years transforming it into a sellable asset. Today, he coaches owners on how to create businesses that are both profitable and sellable, whether they want to exit or simply work less.
Most Businesses Don’t Sell – Here’s Why Yours Might Not Either
It’s the dirty little secret in small business sales: most businesses never sell.
The headlines are filled with success stories—founders selling their companies for millions overnight. But for every headline deal, thousands of owners struggle to find a buyer, realizing too late that their business is not actually sellable.
That’s the hard truth Mike Finger shares in this episode of How2Exit. As the founder of Exit Oasis, Mike has been on both sides of the table. He’s the rare advisor who’s actually been through the pain of trying—and failing—to sell a business before figuring out what truly makes a company sellable.
This conversation isn’t sugar-coated. If you’ve ever thought, “I’ll just sell my business when I’m ready,” you need to hear this episode.
The Reality Check Every Business Owner Needs
Mike breaks the myths wide open:
👉 Most buyers don’t buy. Most sellers never sell.
We love stories about founders exiting for millions, but those stories are the exception, not the rule. The reality? The vast majority of small business owners never find a buyer.
👉 “I’ll sell when I’m ready” is a fantasy.
Owners assume they’ll just wake up one day, list their business, and walk away with a check. But if you haven’t built a sellable business, you’re not selling at all.
👉 The “sellability formula” is simple, but brutal.
Mike distills it into three questions:
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Are your results desirable? If a buyer looks at your numbers, will they want your business?
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Can a buyer duplicate your results? If you leave, does the business still run profitably?
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Can you document your results? If your numbers aren’t clean and clear, buyers will walk away.
If you can’t answer a confident “YES” to all three, your business isn’t sellable.
What Buyers Really See
Many small business owners are in for a rude awakening when they try to sell. They don’t realize that what they see in their business is very different from what a buyer sees.
👀 Owner: “We make a lot of money!”
💰 Buyer: “Where is it on the tax return?”
👀 Owner: “We run a lot of cash through here.”
🚨 Buyer: “So you commit tax fraud? Cool, cool.”
👀 Owner: “I reinvest all my profits.”
💸 Buyer: “So… you didn’t make any money?”
If your financials don’t reflect the true profitability of your business, it doesn’t matter what you say. Buyers only trust what they can verify.
Stop Waiting – Start Preparing Now
One of Mike’s biggest frustrations? Business owners don’t start preparing until it’s too late.
“If you wait until you’re burned out, you’ve already lost value,” he warns.
His advice: Start now. Even if you don’t plan to sell for years, you should be running a business that could sell tomorrow. That means:
✅ Tracking clean financials (not just for taxes, but for saleability)
✅ Reducing owner dependence (so the business runs without you)
✅ Documenting everything (so buyers can step in with confidence)
Whether you want to sell, retire, or just work less, the key is the same: a business that is sellable is also easier to own.
Final Thoughts: Ownability = Sellability
Mike’s philosophy is simple: if your business is sellable, it’s also a business you want to keep.
“If your business is truly ready to sell, you might not even want to sell it anymore,” he points out. After all, a sellable business runs smoothly, makes good money, and doesn’t consume your life.
So whether you’re thinking of selling or just want a better business, start acting like a seller today. Your future self will thank you.
🎧 Listen to the full episode for more insights from Mike Finger and Ron Skelton.
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Ronald Skelton
Host - Main Dancing Bear
Show host and owner, acquisition entrepreneur, father, and husband.
