Build it to sell, even if you're not ready yet.
Whether you're selling this year, in a few months, or just starting to wonder, the questions are the same: is it actually worth something, could I really sell it, and how do I get the most for it? We're licensed brokers who work backwards from what buyers truly pay for - so when you sell, you sell prepared, and you walk away with what your life's work is actually worth.
Most owners come to a sale from one of two places.
For some it's a choice - a tree change, a move closer to family, time back. For others the business is the whole plan: it's the retirement, the thing that's meant to fund the rest of life with some dignity. Either way, the same quiet worry sits underneath. After all these years, is it really worth something, and will I get what I should for it?
Here's what makes that worry real: most businesses are sold exhausted and unprepared, in the final few months, when there's no time left to fix what's dragging the price down. Buyers don't pay for how hard you worked. They pay for what they can see - clean numbers, a business that runs without you, no nasty surprises. Leave it to the last minute and you hand the buyer the discount. Start early and the same business sells for more, on your terms.
What's my business worth is usually the first question an owner asks, and the honest answer is that it depends far less on last year's profit than on how much of the business still runs through the owner personally. Same revenue, same industry, two very different market estimates.
We work backwards from the sale, not forwards from today.
First we tell you the truth: what the business would fetch right now, and exactly what's holding that number down. Then, if there's value to add, we build the plan to lift it - cleaner books, less reliance on you, the things buyers pay a premium for - over the months or years you've got. When it's genuinely ready, our licensed brokerage runs the sale end to end.
And here's the part most brokers won't say out loud: we'd rather you sell for more next year than for less today. We're not chasing a quick commission. If now isn't your moment, we'll tell you, and we'll help you get there. What's best for you is the whole point - because a seller who did well is the only referral worth having.
It starts with a straight answer, for free.
Your Comma Score™ gives you a Broker's Opinion of Value on what the business would sell for today, and the specific things a buyer would mark you down for. No cost, no obligation - just a clear read on where you really stand.
Then, when it makes sense to work together:
A buyer red-flag review - the issues that scare buyers off or get the price talked down, found and fixed before they cost you.
An exit roadmap - a clear plan to lift the value over the time you've got, in the order that actually pays.
An Information Memorandum - the professional sale document, prepared when you're ready to go to market.
Deal management and negotiation - we run the whole sale process and the negotiation, through to completion, in your corner the entire way.
Who this is for
- Owners ready to sell now, and owners who won't sell for years but want to start it right
- Anyone unsure whether the business is even sellable, or what it's really worth today
- Owners for whom the sale is the retirement plan, who need it to fund the next chapter
- Owners selling by choice - a lifestyle change, a move, or simply time back
- Business partners planning a buyout
It depends on where you are in the journey.
If you're preparing, not yet selling: the read, the buyer red-flag review and the roadmap sit under Comma Advisory as fee-for-service. Fair and clear - 50% refundable before your report is generated, non-refundable once the advisory session is delivered, but 100% refundable at any point if you're not happy with the outcome or the quality.
When you're genuinely ready to go to market: the sale is run by Comma Business Brokers on the standard industry structure - an upfront listing and marketing fee (non-refundable once the campaign starts, because that's when the marketing spend is committed), plus commission that's only ever payable on a completed sale. Put simply: we don't earn the commission unless you get the sale.
A Comma Score, in exit mode.
Value and sale-readiness. Swappable placeholder shown here, no real client data.
Sample for illustration. A range, not a valuation - it moves with the few things above.
Indicative range, not a valuation. Comma Business Brokers · QLD Lic. 4909193.
Full report disclaimer
This report is produced by Comma Advisory Pty Ltd (ABN 39699991109, ACN 699 991 109), trading as Comma Advisory, as part of The Comma Score. It is a general, indicative assessment based only on the information available at the time.
This report is not a valuation, audit, financial product advice, or a recommendation to buy, sell, or not proceed with any business or transaction. It is one input only. Any decision to buy, sell, or not proceed — and the price, terms, and outcome of any transaction — is yours alone and the result of your own independent due diligence and professional advice.
This report is prepared solely for the person who purchased it, is confidential, and must not be transferred to or relied on by any other person, including a counterparty to a transaction. We owe no duty of care to any person who is not our client. Buyer reports are automated and we do not provide buyer-side advice, interpretation, or commentary, and buyer reports are not available for businesses Comma Business Brokers currently represents. We may provide services to other parties, including a counterparty to a transaction you are considering, on the terms set out in our Terms & Conditions.
To the maximum extent permitted by law, we exclude all liability for any loss arising from reliance on this report, or from any transaction proceeding or not proceeding, whether or not this report was a factor. Nothing in this disclaimer excludes any right under the Australian Consumer Law that cannot lawfully be excluded.
Market estimate - basis of preparation
The indicative market estimate in this report is a Broker's Opinion of Value prepared by Comma Business Brokers (Hetas Pandya, ABN 15 983 155 364, licensed business broker No. 4909193). It is based on information supplied by you and information available at the time — which has not been independently verified or audited — together with general market and industry information. It is a general, indicative estimate expressed as a range in Australian dollars: not a valuation, not financial product advice, and not a guarantee of sale price. Actual sale price depends on the market, the buyer, the terms of sale, and your own due diligence. It is one input only; any decision to sell or proceed remains yours. To the maximum extent permitted by law, no liability is accepted for any loss arising from reliance on this estimate. Nothing excludes rights under the Australian Consumer Law that cannot lawfully be excluded.
FAQs
Why would I do this years before I'm actually selling?
Because the things that lift a sale price - clean books, a business that doesn't depend on you, documented systems - take time to build. Buyers pay for evidence, not promises made in the final month. Start early and you're selling from strength, not scrambling.
Is the market estimate a formal valuation?
No - it's an indicative market estimate, a Broker's Opinion of Value, not a certified valuation. It's a genuinely useful, licensed read of where you sit. If you need a formal valuation for legal or financial purposes, that's a separate, qualified process.
What if I decide not to sell after all?
That's fine, and common. Everything in the read and the roadmap still improves how the business runs and what it earns, whether or not you ever list it. Nothing is wasted.
Do you represent both sides of a sale?
No. We act for you, the seller. If a buyer is someone we already represent, we'll tell you upfront.
I'm not sure it's even worth selling. Is it worth finding out?
Yes - that's exactly what the free Comma Score is for. You'll get a straight read on whether there's value, what it is, and what would lift it, before you decide anything.
How do I know what my business is worth?
A market estimate is built from what the business actually earns its owner, not what it bills. A licensed broker looks at your real earnings, applies a multiple reflecting your industry and how dependent the business is on you personally, then adds the value of any plant, stock or assets included in the sale. Under Queensland's Property Occupations Act 2014, only a qualified valuer can give a formal valuation. What a broker gives is a market estimate, sometimes called a Broker's Opinion of Value.
The first step is a conversation, not a commitment.
"Sell prepared, not hopeful."