Should I Sell My Business? Start With What It's Actually Paying You

October 2026

---

Should I sell my business or keep running it? And how would you even know which answer is right?

For a lot of owners, the business is more than a source of income. It’s where years of work went, and it’s a big part of who they are. That’s why the question rarely gets asked with the numbers in front of you.

Here’s a simpler place to start. What you take home from your business is two things: pay for the work you do, and a return on what the business is worth. Once you separate the two, you can see what the business earns as an asset and compare it with what that value could do somewhere else.

Is Your Business Your Biggest Asset?

For many owners, it is.

In the Raymond James 2025 Business Owner Report, a survey of more than 500 owners of privately held businesses, 44% said their business makes up more than half their wealth. Nine in ten said it accounts for at least a quarter.

Owners still rarely look at their business the way they look at their other investments.

A stock portfolio or rental property gets reviewed: what it’s earning and whether the money would do better somewhere else. The business seldom gets that same review, partly because running it takes up the time you’d spend stepping back to look at it.

Where Does Your Income Come From?

Picture owning a rental property where you handle every repair yourself. Your business works the same way. What you take home blends two things:

• Pay for your work: the time and decisions you put in every week.

• A return on the business itself: what the business earns as an asset, apart from your labor.

Your financial statements usually don't separate the two. Buyers of owner-run businesses often price them on seller's discretionary earnings (SDE), which adds your salary back into profit.

That makes sense for a buyer who’s stepping into your role. For you, it blends your paycheck and your investment return into one number.

What Does Your Business Earn Without You?

To see the investment side, take what the business makes and subtract a fair salary for the work you do.

A fair salary here means what you'd have to pay someone else to do your job. What's left is what the business earns as an asset.

This is the number worth comparing, since it's what the business keeps producing once you step away.

How big that number is depends on how much the business leans on you. When key customers expect to deal with you, and most decisions run through you, more of what you take home is pay for your work. Less of it is a return the business earns on its own.

Who Should Run the Numbers with You?

Comparing your business to other investments takes two kinds of expertise, and they come from different people.

Knowing what your business could sell for is our part. We look at your earnings the way a buyer would, along with how the business runs and whether real estate is part of the picture. We give you a realistic range, and when a formal valuation is needed, we bring in credentialed specialists.

What that money could earn once you sell and invest it is a question for a wealth advisor or CPA, who can factor in your taxes and your goals.

If you're asking, "Should I sell my business?" you need both answers side by side. We already work directly with clients' attorneys and CPAs during a sale, so bringing those conversations together early comes naturally.

What If You're Not Ready to Let Go?

The hardest part of this question often isn't the math. The business is where you've spent years of your life, and it's often a big part of how you see yourself.

Some owners run the numbers and decide to keep going because the work itself matters to them. Staying is a valid choice. Just make it with the numbers in view.

If selling is somewhere on the horizon, start building a life outside the business early. Interests and plans that don't depend on the business make the transition easier when the time comes.

Know What You're Choosing Between

You don't have to decide anything today.

The first step is knowing what you'd be choosing between: what your business pays you now, and what its value could do for you. That kind of planning is what our advisory work is built for.

If "should I sell my business" has been on your mind, our Valuation Questionnaire is a good place to start. If you've already felt the pull toward selling, our post on the moments that turn an owner into a seller is worth a read too.

When you're ready, Send an Email or Schedule a Call, and we'll walk you through it.