Don't buy a valuation before considering how to best position your company for sale. As a financial analyst for the company that does more valuations than any other company in the U.S., I prepared over 80 valuations and participated in many more during the sales process as an associate with another Southern California mergers and acquisitions company.

In almost every valuation I worked on there were issues that prevented the owners from getting the best price for their companies. Once we brought these issues to their attention and explained how the issues would affect the valuation, the owners understood what needed to be done to fix the issues and get a better valuation.

But by then it was usually too late for most of the recommendations. The accountants had signed off on the financials, and the attorneys and other professionals had completed their due diligence. Of course you could start the process over after fixing the issues but that will cost you. Not only is it expensive in terms of the additional professional fees, but in the time it takes to make the changes - 3 months, 6 months or even a year later - a lot can change in the business environment. A new competitor could emerge, more regulations could be imposed, or increases in the costs of doing business could reduce your profitability. These delays can cause you to miss the window of opportunity to sell your company at the top of the market.

You can act now to maximize the value of your business by downloading a worksheet that will identify changes you can make before the valuation and work through the questions. Any one of the issues that you are able to resolve could get you back hundreds or thousands of times your investment in increased value. Give yourself plenty of time before doing the valuation so that the results of your work are reflected in the financial statements.