When is the best time to start exit planning if I'm not selling for years?

The owners with the most leverage at the negotiating table are almost always the ones who started preparing long before they needed to. They've diversified revenue, built a leadership team, and cleaned up the financials, not because a sale was imminent, but because it made the business stronger either way.

Waiting until you're ready to sell means making decisions under time pressure, often with a specific buyer already at the table. That's the worst possible position to negotiate from, and it's exactly where most unprepared owners end up.

Starting early doesn't commit you to selling on any particular timeline. It just means that when the right opportunity, or the right moment in your own life, arrives, the business is actually ready to meet it.