08/26/2026
Twenty-five years to build it.
Ninety days to protect it.
There's a strange pattern in M&A that catches even seasoned owners off guard.
The years spent building a business get treated with total discipline.
The final stretch before selling it often doesn't.
Burnout sets in.
Owners take the first offer just to be done.
They skip the prep work that due diligence requires because they're mentally already done with it.
Every one of those shortcuts quietly costs money, often more than the owner realizes until it's too late to renegotiate.
A few months of intentional preparation before going to market can be worth years of what was actually built.
The exit deserves the same discipline as everything that led to it.
