Reading Guide  /  Small Business

Built to Sell

Systems, Operations, and Growth

Built to Sell

John Warrillow

The VMT Review — Small Business library

This business fable shows how a service company can reduce dependence on custom work and the founder by creating a more specialized, standardized offering. Not every business should be sold, but a company prepared for sale is often better organized and less owner-dependent.

What the reader will learn

Founders learn to focus, package services, document processes, reduce customer concentration, create recurring revenue, train employees, and separate the company’s identity from the founder. Mentors can use the book even where no sale is contemplated because the larger objective is building a transferable enterprise.