Services

Sell Your Business Well:
Build In Value Before Exit 

Strengthen leadership, reduce dependency and protect value, before decisions are forced. Businesses rarely lose value at the point of sale. They lose it years earlier, when risk quietly accumulates.

I help founders and family businesses build the leadership depth, decision clarity and people structure that makes the business work without them — and stand up to scrutiny when it matters.

Growth isn’t the problem.

The problem is what happens when:

The founder becomes the bottleneck

Decisions slow and accountability blurs

Capability lives in people’s heads instead of systems

Left unresolved, these issues reduce confidence, increase risk — and quietly erode value.

Building value before exit means addressing these issues early, calmly and deliberately.

“She brought clarity and structure to complex circumstances.”

Why This Works Matters

Why Value Building Comes First

Buyers, investors and successors look for the same things:

  • Clear leadership authority

  • Evidence of succession

  • Consistent decision-making

  • A culture that holds under pressure

If those aren’t in place, value is discounted — or deals become fragile.

This work protects:

  • Sale price

  • Timing

  • Reputation

  • Relationships

What We Strengthen

1. Leadership Depth & Authority

Ensuring leadership works as a system — not a set of personalities.

2. Decision Rights & Accountability

Clarifying who decides what, and how decisions flow.

3. Succession & Capability Planning

Identifying risk gaps and preparing people for bigger roles.

4. Founder Dependency Reduction

Removing silent reliance on the founder for continuity.

5. Culture That Survives Transition

Protecting trust, values and behaviour through change.

Typical Challenges We Address

  • The business can’t run without the founder

  • Leadership roles feel unclear or overlapping

  • Decisions stall or escalate unnecessarily

  • Successors exist, but aren’t prepared

  • Culture feels fragile as pressure increases

Typical Outcomes

  • Clearer leadership and faster decisions

  • Reduced dependency on the founder

  • Stronger confidence across the senior team

  • A business that feels calmer and more robust

  • Improved readiness for sale, succession or step-back

How It Works

1. Clarity Call

A short conversation to understand your stage, risks and goals.

2. Scale Up Map

A simple plan showing priorities, gaps and quick wins.

3. Guided Support

You get practical advice, clear tools and steady direction.

4. Leadership Check-Ins

Regular sessions keep alignment tight and remove roadblocks early.

Investment
Engagements are 6-8 weeks, depending on the scope and complexity of the business.

This is a focused, time-bound advisory engagement designed to reduce founder dependency, strengthen leadership continuity and protect long-term value.

Who This Is For

Family businesses entering a new phase

Founders preparing the team for succession

Leaders who want clarity, capability and calm direction

 

Why Concordia Nova

I bring decades of lived experience across family business, construction, engineering and global tech scale-ups. I offer structure without jargon, clarity without judgement, and support that understands both the business and the human behind it. My approach is calm, practical and people-first.

Watch Video Interview

I grew up in a family business and like so many younger family members, I started from the bottom and worked my way up while navigating being a woman in a male-dominated work environment. I am third-generation Irish immigrant. We built a large construction UK business, where the life was tied in with family, work, emotions, and identity. I witnessed feast-and-famine cycles, intense pressure on parents, long working hours, and the unspoken rule that The Business Comes First.

My lived experience shaped my career, identity, and approach to HR, leadership, and business consultancy today.

Next Step

Start with a conversation to explore your next steps.

FAQs

  • Typically founder-led SMEs with 20–250 employees who want to increase value, reduce dependency and prepare for future options — whether sale, succession or investment.

  • No. The best exit outcomes are created years in advance. This work strengthens the business regardless — and gives you optionality when timing matters.

  • Yes. I work closely with founders and leadership teams, often alongside trusted advisers, to address the people and structural issues that most impact value.

  • No. I complement internal HR by focusing on leadership, structure, capability and risk at a strategic level — particularly where value, succession and transition are concerned.

  • Yes. Succession — for founders and key roles — is central to value. We identify gaps, develop capability and reduce single-point dependency.

  • I work in a hybrid way, combining on-site sessions with remote support, depending on what will be most effective.

  • Very much so. I have deep experience in multi-generational family businesses and understand the commercial and relational dynamics involved.

  • We’ll agree whether there’s a fit. If there is, I’ll recommend a clear next step — often an assessment or diagnostic — so you can decide how to proceed with confidence.