San Diego Exit Advisory
Thinking about selling?
No one needs to know yet.
Most business owners explore an exit in private, long before they're ready to act. I help San Diego owners prepare for a premium sale, quietly, on their own timeline, before they ever talk to a broker. Whether your business does $200K or $5M, the questions are the same, and you deserve real answers before talking to anyone else.
- Nothing listed without your consent
- NDA available before any detailed discussion
- Independent, not a broker, no commission
- San Diego & Southern California focused
- Also a self-funded buyer, any acquisition interest disclosed upfront
Start a private conversation
A free confidential call to understand where you stand. No obligation, handled discreetly.
Not ready to talk yet? Get the free guide first: 5 Things That Quietly Lower Your Sale Price →
The problem
Most owners only sell once. The buyers across the table do this every day.
You've spent years, maybe decades, building something real. But when it comes time to sell, the process is opaque, the terminology is unfamiliar, and everyone in the room seems to have an angle. Brokers earn commissions. Buyers want the lowest price. And you're navigating the biggest financial decision of your life, often alone.
That's not a fair fight. It doesn't have to be.
The seller's reality check
How ready are you, really?
Most owners thinking about selling in the next 1–3 years can't confidently answer these questions. If that's you, you're not alone, and you're exactly who this is for.
Valuation: Do you know what a buyer will actually pay, and how they'll calculate it?
Tax implications: Do you know how much you'll actually keep after federal and California taxes?
Owner dependence: Would your business run without you, and can you prove it to a buyer?
Financial presentation: Are your books structured for a sale, or just for tax minimization?
Timing: Do you know when the right time to sell is, for your market and your life?
The process: Do you know what actually happens between “I want to sell” and “deal closed”?
Deal structure: Do you understand earnouts, seller financing, and working capital adjustments?
Your deal team: Do you know which attorney, CPA, and broker are right for your specific deal?
Confidentiality: Do you have a plan to explore a sale without employees or customers finding out?
Deal risk: Do you know what causes deals to fall apart, and how to prevent it?
Operational modernization: Have you documented and automated repetitive workflows so a buyer sees a business that runs without constant owner intervention? AI tools have made this dramatically easier in the last two years, and buyers are paying attention.
If you left most of those unchecked, let's talk.
That's not a knock, it's exactly what the free confidential call is for.
How I help
You don't need another broker. You need a guide.
Brokers represent the transaction. Buyers represent themselves. I represent you, from the moment you start thinking about selling to the day you hand over the keys. My job is to make sure you walk into every conversation prepared, protected, and confident.
STEP 01
Understand where you stand
An honest assessment of your business through a buyer's lens, valuation, gaps, and opportunities.
STEP 02
Build your exit roadmap
A prioritized 12-month plan targeting the changes that will have the biggest impact on your final number.
STEP 03
Assemble the right team
When you're ready, I help you identify and vet the attorney, CPA, and broker right for your specific situation.
STEP 04
Go to market prepared
You enter the process informed and organized, not learning on the fly while buyers hold the advantage.
What's at stake
The difference preparation makes
This is likely the largest financial event of your life. How you go into it determines how you come out.
- Leaving significant money on the table due to avoidable valuation gaps
- Deal falls apart in diligence over issues that could have been fixed beforehand
- Employees and customers find out before you're ready
- Signing deal terms you don't fully understand
- A tax bill that could have been meaningfully reduced with earlier planning
- A business positioned for a premium multiple, because you fixed what buyers discount
- Clean diligence that builds buyer confidence instead of raising red flags
- Complete privacy until the moment you choose to disclose
- Negotiating from a position of knowledge, not pressure
- A tax strategy in place long before closing, not scrambled together at the end
Confidentiality commitment
Your privacy is the foundation of everything
The moment employees, customers, or competitors hear a business might be for sale, things change. I make sure they never find out until you decide they should.
No listings, ever
Your business will never appear on a marketplace or broker site without your explicit direction.
No buyer contact
I never introduce you to buyers or share your information without your direct approval first.
Your timeline, your call
Exploring an exit doesn't mean committing to one. We move at the pace you're comfortable with.
Independent, not a broker
No commission, no pressure. My job is to help you prepare, not to close a transaction.
Mutual NDA available before any detailed discussion
Before we discuss specifics, financials, customers, operations, a mutual NDA is available to formalize our confidentiality commitment. Many owners find this gives them the comfort to speak freely. Just ask and it's done before our first real conversation.
When you're ready to move
You shouldn't have to build your deal team alone
When the time comes to sell, the professionals you surround yourself with will determine as much of your outcome as the business itself. I help you identify, vet, and assemble the right team for your specific situation.
Christopher Ramos
SD Exit Advisory
Your independent advocate from start to finish, coordinating the team and keeping everyone working in your interest.
M&A attorney
Legal counsel
Lawyers who live in transactions, not generalists learning on your dime.
Transaction CPA
Tax & accounting
The right CPA, engaged early, can meaningfully improve your after-tax proceeds.
The right broker
Market & buyers
Not all brokers are created equal. I help you find one whose interests actually align with yours.
Wealth advisor
After the close
What happens to the proceeds matters as much as the price. Plan before you close.
A word on brokers: Some are excellent, specialized, well-networked, genuinely aligned with sellers. Others push volume and move on. The difference in outcome can be significant. Part of my job is helping you tell them apart before you sign anything.
The offer
Readiness assessment
A structured, private engagement that gives you a clear picture of where you stand, and exactly what to do next.
Three sessions. One clear plan.
I evaluate your business through a buyer's lens, identify what's suppressing your multiple, and build a prioritized action plan for the next 12 months. Everything stays between us.
Business valuation deep-dive
Understand what buyers will pay and why.
Value gap analysis
Identify what's holding down your multiple.
12-month action plan
A prioritized roadmap to maximize your exit.
The engagement
Three ways to work together
Every owner starts the same way, with a free, confidential conversation. From there, engagements are scoped to fit where you are and what you need. Nothing is one-size-fits-all, and you'll always see scope and fees in writing before you commit to anything.
01
Start here
Introductory Call
No charge · 45 minutes · Confidential
A conversation, not a pitch. Where the business is, what you're weighing, and whether there's anything worth doing next. Nothing leaves the call.
02
Get a baseline
Readiness Assessment
Fixed fee, starting at $10,000 · Three to four weeks
A clear-eyed look at what your business looks like to a buyer today: where the value sits, what's discounting it, and what can realistically be fixed in the time you have. You receive a written assessment and a prioritized plan. Whether you act on it next year or in five, it's yours.
03
Get sale-ready
Preparation Retainer
Monthly, starting at $5,000 · Typically six to eighteen months
Closing the gaps the assessment surfaces: owner dependence, customer concentration, financial reporting, building the management layer beneath you. This is the work that moves the number, and it takes time.
Everything that makes a business sellable also makes it better to own. Some owners do this work because they're selling in eighteen months. Others do it because they'd like the option, and would rather build it now than scramble later.
Defined-scope projects outside this structure are quoted individually.
Not sure which fits? That's what the introductory call is for.
Who you're working with
Christopher Ramos
Exit Advisor · San Diego, CA
I've been on every side of the table, evaluating acquisitions at the corporate level and navigating the sale of my own business. I know what buyers look for, what kills deals, and what gets transactions done at premium multiples. I started this practice because I saw how many good business owners got to the finish line underprepared, and how much that cost them. Every conversation I have is treated with complete discretion. I understand what's at stake if word gets out too early.
You deserve to get full value for what you built.
The first step is understanding where you actually stand. That's what the free confidential call is for, no pressure, no pitch, just an honest conversation.
NDA available before any detailed discussion · Serving San Diego & Southern California owners
Common questions
Questions San Diego owners ask before they're ready to sell.
Have a question that's not here? Ask it on a free, confidential call →