BreakThru Realty

Business Exit Planning for Florida Owners

An exit plan is a valuation today, a target for the sale, and the work in between. Most of what raises a business's price takes a year or more to show in the numbers, so the plan starts before the decision to sell, and it is revisited each year until the sale.

Storefronts and parked cars along a small town main street at sunset

Reviewed by Tyson E. Sam, Founder and Broker of Record, BreakThru Realty, Florida License 3565210

Last reviewed November 7, 2026

Find Out What My Business Is Worth · (786) 914-1017

Start With the Number

The plan begins with two figures: what the business would sell for today, from a confidential valuation built on comparable sales, and what you need from the sale after debt, fees and tax to fund what comes next. The distance between them, and the years you are willing to give it, decide how much of the work below is worth doing. A business already worth the target is prepared and sold; one that is not is improved first, with the valuation repeated each year.

What Raises a Price

Earnings that are stable or rising for three years, books that match the tax returns and the bank, a lease with term and options, a manager who runs the days and staff who stay, recurring revenue under agreements, customers spread so that none is more than a tenth of sales, equipment maintained and documented, licences and permits clean and transferable, processes written down, and an owner who can take a month off. Each is a project with a cost and a payback, and the plan ranks them by how much they move the price for your kind of business.

The Team and the Timeline

Your accountant prepares the financials in the form a buyer's lender wants and models the tax under each structure; your attorney reviews the lease, the contracts and the entity; a licensed business broker runs the valuation, the preparation, the confidential marketing and the sale. The timeline works back from the exit date: improvements first, the valuation refreshed, the package prepared, then the market, then the buyer's due diligence and the closing, which together take months rather than weeks.

The Private Check Along the Way

At any point in the plan, the broker can check the business privately against the criteria business buyers have registered with BreakThru Realty. If a buyer is already looking for a business like yours, the plan may shorten; if none is, the plan continues and the marketing is prepared for when the business is ready. Nothing is shared and nobody is contacted until you decide to sell.

Find Out What My Business Is Worth

Tell us the type of business, the city, how long it has operated, annual revenue, owner benefit or seller's discretionary earnings, EBITDA if you track it, monthly rent and lease expiry, number of employees, how involved you are, why you are selling, your timeline and whether you would consider seller financing. A licensed BreakThru business broker prepares a confidential valuation from comparable sales and replies within one business day. Everything you tell us is confidential, the valuation is free, and nothing is listed or announced unless you decide to sell. Prefer to talk now? Call (786) 914-1017.

Questions Owners Ask

How much is my business worth?
Most owner operated businesses in Florida sell for a multiple of seller's discretionary earnings: net profit plus the owner's salary, benefits and one time or personal expenses run through the business. Where the multiple falls depends on the industry, the lease, the staff, the trend in the numbers and how much the business depends on you. A confidential valuation gives you the range for your business and the reasons behind it.
Will my employees, customers or landlord find out?
Not from us. The business is marketed without its name or address, buyers sign a nondisclosure agreement and prove their funds before they learn who you are, and showings happen after hours or are presented as something else. The landlord is approached only once there is an accepted offer, because the lease has to be assigned.
How long does it take to sell a business?
Six to nine months from listing to closing is common for a well prepared small business, faster when the price is right and the records are clean, longer for businesses that need a licensed buyer or a franchisor's approval. The escrow period after an accepted offer is usually sixty to ninety days.

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