by John F Kettley | Aug 12, 2026 | Exit Strategy, Leadership, SMEs
Business owners often ask me what they should be doing if they want to sell their business in the next couple of years. It’s a sensible question, but I don’t think it’s the right place to start.The businesses that achieve the strongest outcomes are very rarely...
by John F Kettley | Jul 22, 2026 | Exit Strategy
When business owners hear the phrase exit planning, the conversation often starts in the wrong place. People think about valuations, tax planning, legal documents and negotiations. Those are all important, but they come much later than most people realise. Long before...
by John F Kettley | May 6, 2026 | Exit Strategy, Leadership, SMEs
Most business failures do not begin with a lack of work. They begin with a lack of cash control. That distinction matters because it changes where owners need to look. A business can have a decent pipeline, good people and live sites, and still get into serious...
by John F Kettley | Apr 29, 2026 | Exit Strategy, Leadership
A lot of owners say the same thing with a kind of pride: the business needs me. Sometimes that is true. It is also usually a warning sign. In founder-led construction businesses, owner dependency often gets mistaken for strength. The owner knows every client, approves...
by John F Kettley | Mar 4, 2026 | Exit Strategy
OWNER DEPENDENCEY IS THE BIGGEST HIDDEN VALUE HAIRCUT If the business can’t run without the founder, it isn’t really a business in the eyes of a buyer. It’s a job, with payroll and liabilities attached. This is one of the biggest gaps between how owners see value and...
by John F Kettley | Feb 12, 2026 | Exit Strategy
Building a business is not the same as building wealth Most business owners spend years focused on building a business. Fewer spend time thinking clearly about whether that business is actually building real world wealth. I didn’t spot the difference early in my...
