28 Jan 2026 · 0 min
Jim James argues most businesses fail to sell because owners never plan their exit. Health crises, divorce, pandemics, and employee problems can force a sudden sale at the worst time. Start with the end in mind from day one to build something actually worth selling.
The number one reason that businesses are not sellable is number one, business owners don't plan their exit. They wake up one day and go, I can't do this anymore. I have to sell my company. And it could be health issues. Partners through this divorce stat. They could be this pandemic. We've been living it for the last two years. It could be the employee market and not wanting to deal with employees anymore. But you can't wake up one day and expect you're going to maximize value. It never happens that way. So you got to plan your exit from the beginning. Like Stephen Covey says, start with Ian in mind. It.
How can this be easy? The mindset approach approach to change how you build your business.