If you’re a business owner, you already know one simple truth: everybody exits. Whether you’re aiming to sell, retire, or pass the torch, one day you will step away from your company. But there’s a massive difference between walking away with your well-earned nest egg—and getting fleeced by sharks who see you as nothing more than an easy payday.

On a recent episode of the Built to Exit Podcast, host Jason Sisneros delivered a masterclass in avoiding the all-too-common pitfalls around selling your business, especially when private equity and professional buyers are involved. Drawing from his own experience as a business owner, private equity investor, and sell-side advocate, Jason breaks down the steps every entrepreneur should follow to ensure they not only exit—but exit on their own terms.

In this post, you’ll learn:

• Why most business owners get scammed or underpaid during a sale
• What the private equity playbook looks like (and how to play it to win)
• Practical, actionable steps to protect your “pot of gold”—and get the freedom and legacy you deserve

The Grim Reality: Most Business Owners Lose Out

Too many business owners think that selling is a guaranteed payday. In reality, the numbers are sobering:

• 95% of companies exit involuntarily. That means they fail, shut down, or peter out with nothing left for the owner.
• Of those that go to market, less than 7% actually sell (source: Harvard Business Review).
• Of the ones that do close, up to 90% fail to deliver expected value to the seller—or fall apart post-sale.

That’s not a transfer of wealth—it’s a great theft of wealth. Jason calls this “the greatest theft of wealth in history,” as thousands of small and midsize business owners—especially Baby Boomers—get taken advantage of by buyers or “brokers” who talk a big game but can’t deliver.

Three Ways to Exit Your Business

As Jason explains, there are only three real types of exits for business owners:

1. Involuntary Exit:

You go out of business: bankruptcy, closure, maybe after a period of burnout or a personal crisis. You get almost nothing for your years of work.

2. Dictated Exit:

Someone approaches to buy your business—and they know a whole lot more about buying than you do about selling. They drive a hard bargain, structure deals in their favor, and often leave you with less than half of what your company is really worth.

3. Custom-Tailored (or Engineered) Exit:

The gold standard—you intentionally prepare, optimize, and position your business for sale. You know your numbers, set your terms, run a proper process, and often command a premium at closing.

The tragedy? Most founders fall into the first two camps—not because their companies aren’t valuable, but because they fail to prepare, fail to vet buyers, and fail to learn how the game is really played.

Private Equity Today: The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly

If you’ve ever seen Facebook posts from “serial entrepreneurs” promising to buy your HVAC, plumbing, or home services business—even though they were selling ads, marketing, or running a funnel agency last year—Jason’s advice is simple: run the other way.

The legitimate private equity sector is full of seasoned buyers, real capital, and operational know-how. These players can take your business, invest, grow, and sell it again for more—often preserving jobs and the legacy you care about. But mixed in are “vulture capitalists” and outright scammers: people promising outsized multiples, quick closes, and piles of cash up front… then disappearing at the first sign of trouble or dragging you through endless performance earnouts.

Key takeaways for sellers:

• Do your due diligence. Check if your buyer has closed deals in your industry. Look for a real track record—on Google, LinkedIn, and even court records.
• Beware performance-based deals. If you’re carrying the note or earnout, be sure the buyer can actually fulfill those obligations.
• Never let a buyer “coach,” “guide,” or “represent” you if they’ve never owned or sold a business like yours.

The Private Equity Playbook: How Buyers Win (and How You Can Take Control)

Most private equity buyers have a structured playbook to get the best possible deal—and it’s not designed to make you rich. Here’s what you need to know:

1. They Promise, Then Slash Multiples

You might hear, “We’ll pay a 10x multiple!” but when the deal closes, it’s 3x—or less. The initial offer is often just a tactic to get you to sign a letter of intent and take your business off the market.

2. Milestone Manipulation

Unrealistic performance clauses, targets you’ll never hit, or hidden fine print that puts your payout at risk. If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.

3. Power Shifts Away From Owners

As negotiations progress, you might find your title shifting from “Owner” to “Advisor”—with less authority, control, or say in key decisions.

4. “Buy Box” vs. “Sell Box”

Buyers have a “buy box”—a profile of the perfect investment, complete with ideal price, terms, and industry. Sellers should have a “sell box”—a specific story, structure, and set of terms that maximize what you want.

Seven Moves to Stack the Deck in Your Favor

So how do you win—maximizing value, protecting your people, and ensuring your legacy survives? Here are Jason Sisneros’s top seven strategies for business owners prepping for a successful exit:

1. Create the Story Before Your Buyer Does

Don’t let buyers define your business’s value. Architect your own narrative:

• Who is your ideal buyer?
• What story—of growth, potential, and profitability—do you want them to see?
• Polish your pro forma adjusted EBITDA, not just your historical numbers.

2. Decide (and Defend) Your Non-Negotiables

There are three core dimensions of a sale:

• Price: Know your bottom line, your target, and your “moonshot.”
• Timing: Are you in a rush (health, family, partnership), or can you wait for the best deal?
• Terms: Cash vs. earnout, continued involvement, equity rollover, and more. Have your “red lines” before you field any offers.

3. Demand (and Create) Multiple Offers

Never negotiate with just one buyer. A feeding frenzy is your best friend. Even if you can’t drum up ten offers, structure your process to attract real, competing bidders.

4. Build Your Sell Box and Be Buyer-Ready

Organize your systems, processes, contracts, and financials so that the company can run (and grow) without you. This means:

• Transparent reporting
• Documented Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs)
• Management team continuity
• Clean financials and legal records

5. Vet Buyers Like Your Future Depends on It

Look for:

• Experience in your industry
• Solid, verifiable track record
• Multiple happy references (not just paid testimonials) Remember: if the only people vouching for your buyer are family or unlisted “success stories,” dig deeper.
  
  Tip: Check their litigation history as well!

6. Negotiate More Than Just Price

Price is only one factor. Consider:

• Earnouts: Are they realistic? Can you influence the outcome?
• Equity rollovers: Can you keep skin in the game for another payday?
• Future sale participation: Will you profit when the company sells again?
• Employment/consulting agreements: If you stay on post-sale, are your incentives and responsibilities clear?

7. Work With Experienced Advisors—Don’t Go It Alone

You love your people, your product, your customers—meaning you’re often too close to negotiate objectively. An experienced sell-side advisor can:

• Objectively valuate your business
• Structure your process
• Negotiate hard on your behalf (removing the emotional bias)
• Avoid “deal fatigue” and costly mistakes

Real-World Example: What Right Looks Like

Jason highlights Houlihan Lokey, a top investment bank, as a shining example of a company that built and exited the right way:

• Clean, transparent books
• A succession plan and “bench strength” so the business wouldn’t collapse post-sale
• Scalable systems and growth through smart acquisitions
• Retained cultural control even after IPO

Why did they succeed where so many others failed? Clarity of vision, relentless preparation, and a process architected for the right buyer.

Free Tools: Start With a Business Assessment

Before you even think about optimizing for sale, hiring a broker, or starting exit prep, do an assessment. Learn where your business stands today—warts and all.

As Jason puts it:

“Your very first move should not be to optimize your business. It should be for you to assess, maybe with the help of a professional, to just say, hey, where’s my business?”

Find free assessments online (the team at Built to Exit even offers one at builttoexit.biz, at least for a limited time), or look up guides on “How to value your business.” The key is knowing your true strengths, weaknesses, and current market value before you start shopping for buyers or making promises.

Conclusion: Play to Win, Not to Lose

The scary truth? If you don’t fully understand how the game is played—how private equity works, how buyers structure deals, how to position your business—you’ll almost certainly end up a victim. But it doesn’t have to be that way.

You are the hero of your own exit story.
By investing the time, effort, and discipline to get “buyer ready,” arming yourself with knowledge of the private equity playbook, and refusing to let desperation or ignorance dictate terms, you can achieve a life-changing exit—and leave a legacy for your family, employees, and community.

Remember:

• Everyone exits. The only question is how.
• Custom tailoring your exit is possible (even if you’re years away from selling).
• Do your due diligence—on buyers and advisors.
• Surround yourself with people who have been there and done it—successfully.

When you get it right, your exit isn’t just a payday—it’s the crown on top of a well-lived and well-managed company.

---

Questions? Looking for Community?

Jason’s tribe of business owners is active every week—offering afterparties, peer support, and wins shared in real time. Find Jason on X/Twitter at @thejcisneros and connect with other business owners serious about protecting their life’s work. Watch past podcasts on our website.

Protect your pot of gold. Build your business to exit. Play to win—because how you exit is the only thing that really matters.

If you found this helpful, share with fellow business owners—especially in home services, trades, or family-owned companies—so you can look out for each other and put an end to the greatest theft of wealth in history.

For more insights, tools, and support, check out Built to Exit and join the movement of founders who are reclaiming their legacies, one smart exit at a time.