John Warrillow, author of Built To Sell, says only one out of 100 business owners are able to successfully sell their companies each year, meaning they'd have better odds of striking a payday at the rack track.

What are some steps that owners can take to make their companies attractive to a buyer?

First, pinpoint a service or product that your customers value and seek regularly, while also setting up an operation that employees can readily learn. Then, create a positive cash-flow cycle, charging up front for the service you identified. Hire a sales team, and remove yourself from being the rainmaker for your business. Next, stop accepting other projects because you should be able to turn away work that doesn't fit into your standard service offering in Step One. Lock in key managers by putting a long-term carrot in place if they stay with the business through a sale. Finding a broker for a sale is the most important financial transaction a business owner will make. Use a pro. Then tell your management team. Outline career opportunities for them with a new owner. Finally, convert offers to a binding deal.

How can an owner maximize value and get the highest price for a business?

If you establish the cash-flow model described above, the buyer will not have to put up much working capital, and might be more willing to pay a higher multiple because of their potential for a higher return on equity. Make sure you have competitive offers. A broker or merger-and-acquisition professional should run the sale process for you and, just as when selling a house, should try to generate at least two offers. Do not give a buyer exclusivity until he or she has provided a written letter of intent, complete with a purchase price and working capital calculation.

On another subject, what is the effect of President Barack Obama's proposed $3.8 trillion budget on small-business owners?

Every dollar invested in making it easier and more profitable for small-business owners to build their companies creates a virtuous cycle of more investment, which leads to more growth, which leads to more jobs, which leads to more prosperity, which leads back to more investment, and the cycle repeats.

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