Value Builder Box: Quick Start Guide
Welcome. You just did something most owners never do.
You decided to find out what your business is really worth. And you decided to grow that number before you sell.
This guide shows you what’s in your box, what to open first, and exactly what to do in your first 7 days and your first 30 days.
Keep it simple. Follow the steps in order. You don’t need a finance degree. You just need to start.
Why This Box Exists
I worked in private equity. I analyzed small-business valuations on both sides of the table: for the buyers and for the sellers.
In that time, I watched 99% of the deals I saw die.
Not because the businesses were bad. Because the owners didn’t know what their company was really worth. They had problems they didn’t even know about. And when they did know, they didn’t know how to fix them.
This box is built to make sure that doesn’t happen to you.
What’s in Your Box
Here is everything inside, and what each piece is for.
1. The Quick Start Guide
You’re holding it. It’s your map. Read it first, then keep it handy for the next 30 days.
2. The Value Builder Workbook
This is where the work happens. The book teaches the method. The workbook is where you write down your own answers: your exit goals, your Perfect Buyer, your number, and your plan to raise it.
Write in it. Fill in the blanks. It’s meant to get used, not kept clean.
3. The Deal Files
This is your companion for the Deal Study. It helps you look at deals like a buyer does: what was sold, for how much, and why.
When you know what businesses like yours actually sell for, you stop guessing about your own price.
4. Two Review Certificates
These are for real feedback on your real work.
- Review Certificate #1: Teaser Review. Send us your one-page teaser, and our team will review it.
- Review Certificate #2: Value Roadmap Review. Send us your Value Roadmap, and our team will review it.
How to redeem them is explained later in this guide.
5. The Owner’s Manifesto
One page. Read it out loud. Then frame it and hang it where you’ll see it every day.
It’s a reminder of why you’re doing this: your business has a price, and you’re going to make it the right one.
6. Your VIP Ticket to the Live Training
This ticket gets you a seat at a live training with me, Hunter Schneider. We’ll cover how to grow and sell your company for the most money.
The date and time will be sent by email to Box owners. Watch your inbox.
The Order to Use Everything
Don’t try to do it all at once. Use the pieces in this order:
- Read this Quick Start Guide. (Today.)
- Read the Owner’s Manifesto. (Today. It takes two minutes.)
- Log in to Valuexus. (Today. Instructions are below.)
- Open the Value Builder Workbook. Work through it alongside the book, one station at a time.
- Use the Deal Files when you reach the Deal Study.
- Use Review Certificate #2 once your Value Roadmap is drafted.
- Use Review Certificate #1 once your one-page teaser is drafted.
- Attend the live training when the date is announced.
That’s it. One step at a time.
How to Log In to Valuexus
The book teaches the method. Valuexus does a lot of the work for you. It tracks your number and helps you see what moves it.
Here’s how to get in:
- Go to valuexus.com.
- Click Log In.
- Use the same email address you used when you ordered your box.
- Follow the steps on screen to set or confirm your password.
If you have any trouble logging in, email our support team using the address in your welcome email. Tell them the email you ordered with, and they’ll help you get in.
Your First 7 Days
Your goal this week is simple: know where you stand.
Most owners have never written down what they want from a sale, or what their business is worth today. By the end of this week, you will have both.
Day 1: Get Set Up
Day 2: Decide What You Want
Before you can sell for the most money, you have to know what “the most” means to you.
Open your workbook and answer these questions:
There are no wrong answers. Just honest ones.
Day 3: Name Your Perfect Buyer
Your answers from Day 2 point to a type of buyer. Someone who wants a legacy owner-operator is a different buyer from a competitor who wants your customers, or a private equity firm that wants a platform.
Day 4: Get Your Number
Your number is what your business is worth today. Not what you hope. Not what a friend sold for. What it’s worth right now.
Write it down even if you don’t like it. Especially if you don’t like it. This is your starting line.
Day 5: Find Your Weakest Spot
Every business has a few things that pull its value down. A buyer will find them. It’s much better if you find them first.
Day 6: Block Your Time
Value gets built in small, steady moves. Not in one big weekend.
Day 7: Look Back
You now know what you want, who you want to sell to, and where you stand today. That’s more than most owners know on the day they sell.
Your First 30 Days
Your goal for the month: build your plan and start working it.
Week 2: Study the Market
Now that you know your number, find out what the market pays.
Prices vary a lot by size and industry. As a rough guide, small businesses often trade somewhere around 2 to 5 times SDE (the owner’s total earnings from the business), and larger ones around 3 to 7 times EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization). Your number depends on your business. That’s why you study real deals.
Week 3: Build Your Value Roadmap
Your Value Roadmap is your plan to raise your number. It ranks every move by how much money it could add.
When your roadmap is drafted, redeem Review Certificate #2 (instructions below).
Week 4: Start Building
A plan only pays when you work it.
Your Proof Room doesn’t have to be perfect. Start with a folder. Add your financial statements, key contracts, and anything that shows your business runs well. When a buyer asks for something, you’ll have it in minutes, not weeks.
When You’re Ready: Your One-Page Teaser
Your teaser is a single page that sells your business without naming it. It’s the first thing a buyer sees.
You don’t need to send it to anyone yet. But drafting it now shows you how a buyer will see your business, and what you still need to fix.
Day 30 Check-In
Don’t worry if the number hasn’t moved much yet. Some moves take time to show up. What matters is that you now have a plan and you’re working it.
How to Redeem Your Review Certificates
Each certificate is good for one review.
Review Certificate #1: Teaser Review
- Draft your one-page teaser.
- Email it to our support team, using the address in your Valuexus welcome email.
- Use this subject line: Teaser Review: Certificate #1
- Include your name and the email you ordered with.
Review Certificate #2: Value Roadmap Review
- Draft your Value Roadmap.
- Email it to our support team, using the address in your Valuexus welcome email.
- Use this subject line: Value Roadmap Review: Certificate #2
- Include your name and the email you ordered with.
Our team will review what you send and reply to you by email.
A tip: send your best draft, not your first one. The more complete your work is, the more useful the feedback will be.
Saving Your Seat at the Live Training
Your VIP Ticket gets you a seat at the live training with me.
The date and time will be announced by email to Box owners. When that email arrives, follow the steps in it to save your seat. Add it to your calendar right away.
Bring your workbook. Bring your number. Bring your questions.
A Few Reminders
- Go in order. The steps build on each other.
- Ten minutes a day beats one big weekend. Small moves add up.
- Write it down. Your workbook is your record of progress.
- Talk to your pros. For anything legal, tax, or financial, confirm the specifics with your CPA and attorney. This box teaches the general method. Your advisors know your situation.
One Last Thing
Your business has a price. Most owners find out what it is on the day they sell, when it’s too late to change it.
You’re finding out now. That means you have time to raise it.
Turn to Day 1. Let’s get started.
Hunter Schneider