01
Governance & Decision-Making Select the description that best fits your business today… 1 — No written governance structure; decisions made ad hoc by the owner 2 — Some understood rules, but nothing documented 3 — Operating agreement / bylaws exist but are outdated or unused in practice 4 — Current governance documents; board or advisory body meets irregularly 5 — Documented, current governance with regular meetings and clear authority 02
Leadership & Successor Readiness Select the description that best fits your business today… 1 — No identified successor; all leadership runs through the owner 2 — A possible successor exists but is untested 3 — Successor identified and developing, but not running day-to-day 4 — Successor running day-to-day operations under owner oversight 5 — Credible successor bench; multiple leaders capable of stepping up 03
Ownership & Equity Transfer Select the description that best fits your business today… 1 — No plan for how ownership transfers; unclear who gets what 2 — General intent discussed, but no mechanics 3 — Some transfer planning (e.g., buy-sell drafted) but unfinalized 4 — Transfer path documented but not yet funded or triggered 5 — Documented, funded transfer path with valuation and triggers 04
Documentation & Legal Instruments Select the description that best fits your business today… 1 — Material gaps; key agreements missing or stale 2 — Some documents exist but disorganized 3 — Mixed readiness; core docs present, some outdated 4 — Organized and mostly current; periodic review not formalized 5 — Organized, current, and reviewed on a set schedule 05
Operations & Knowledge Transfer Select the description that best fits your business today… 1 — Critical knowledge lives only in the owner's head 2 — Some documented processes but incomplete 3 — Key processes documented; knowledge still concentrated 4 — Documented systems with cross-training in progress 5 — Transferable processes; knowledge shared across the team 06
Financial Readiness & Valuation Select the description that best fits your business today… 1 — No current valuation; financials not transition-ready 2 — Rough sense of value; no formal valuation 3 — Valuation done but outdated (2+ years); financials clean 4 — Recent valuation; financials organized and reviewable 5 — Current valuation; financials audited/reviewed and transition-ready 07
Timeline & Transition Plan Select the description that best fits your business today… 1 — No timeline; transition treated as a future event 2 — General horizon discussed but no milestones 3 — A target window exists but no milestones or contingencies 4 — Defined milestones for the next 1-3 years 5 — Defined milestones, contingencies, and a tested plan 08
Key-Person Dependency & Risk Select the description that best fits your business today… 1 — Business cannot function without the owner for even a week 2 — Heavy owner dependency; short-term coverage only 3 — Some delegation; owner absence causes strain within weeks 4 — Team can run independently for extended periods 5 — Fully resilient; owner can step away without disruption See My Readiness Result Answer all 8 questions to see your result.