Business exit advisory for small business owners
Brokers list your business and hope. I help you prepare it, position it, and sell it.
If you're thinking about selling your business, the odds aren't in your favor. It's estimated that only one in six (17%) of businesses that go to market actually sell. Most don't.
Traditional business brokers know this. Their model is built around it. They collect listings, sit back and wait, and then charge a large commission on the ones that happen to close, to cover the work on all the ones that don't. The result: you either don't sell, or you sell and hand over a fee that wasn't earned.
Beating the odds requires work that brokers have no incentive to do.
Beating the odds requires work that most brokers have no incentive to do. Getting a business buyer-ready — improving profitability, tightening operations, cleaning up the financials, reducing owner dependence — takes real effort upfront, before a deal is even in sight. A commission-based broker won't do it. If the listing doesn't sell, none of that work pays back.
I'm not a broker. I work as an advisor, on a retainer or project basis, which means my incentives are aligned with yours from the start. I do the preparation work with you, help you get the business into a position where it can actually sell, and support you through the whole process. That's how you beat the odds.
Why I work differently →I work with small business owners in three situations. They are either:
Some owners are still figuring out whether selling is the right move at all. Whether the timing is right, whether the number will work, or whether there's a better path to achieve what they're actually after. We work through answers together without any pressure to transact.
Some know they want to sell but recognize their business isn't ready. So we often work on improving performance, like growing revenue or tightening operations. And on structural changes, like cleaning the financials and reducing owner dependence.
And some have been disappointed by business brokers. By the level of service, by a commission structure that doesn't feel fair, or by a model that's built for the broker's volume, not the seller's best outcome. We're executing a sale together without the need for a broker.
If any of these sound like your situation, reach out:
I'm Ross Cohen, founder of Self Made Sale. I started my career as a corporate lawyer working on large M&A transactions at one of the largest law firms in the country. I learned how deals actually work from the inside.
After business school, I started two small businesses and sold both, running the transactions myself. These were sub-$1 million deals. No investment banker, no team of advisors. I made mistakes, figured it out, and got the deals done.
What I discovered is that large deals have experts for everything. Small deals don't, and the owner is left to navigate a complicated process alone, usually for the first time. That's the gap Self Made Sale exists to close.
I have an MBA from Wharton and a JD from Harvard.
More about me →Every client engagement is different. Some people need a thinking partner. Some need a deliverable. Some need someone to roll up their sleeves and get it done.
You're driving the strategy and execution. I'm directing and advising you along the way.
Learn more →I help define the strategy and produce the work product, while you drive the execution.
Learn more →I'm in it with you, and we're doing the execution work together as a team.
Learn more →I do not charge commissions or success fees. You choose how you want to work and pay. You can change either at any time and cancel with no penalties.
How I work →Schedule a free discovery call. No pitch, no pressure. Just an honest conversation about where you are and whether I can help.
Schedule a Free Discovery Call