The eight-driver self-assessment

One page. No email was asked for this, and none will be. Print it, mark it, take it to your accountant.

Within any industry, where a business lands is moved by eight drivers its owner controls. Mark one state per row, honestly — evidence, not kindness.

Driver	Fragile	Usable	Defensible
Owner-independence	☐ runs only through you	☐ runs a week without you	☐ runs a quarter without you
Customer concentration	☐ one customer is most of it	☐ top customer under a third	☐ no customer you could not lose
Recurring revenue	☐ every job resold from zero	☐ some contracts or repeat work	☐ most revenue recurring or contracted
Clean books	☐ tax-return-only, surprises inside	☐ monthlies exist, mostly tie	☐ monthlies tie to returns, in writing
Bench	☐ no second-in-command	☐ one person could step up	☐ named seconds for every critical task
Systems	☐ in heads and on paper	☐ partly in systems	☐ documented, in systems, administered
Brand and demand	☐ referrals through the owner	☐ some demand arrives on its own	☐ demand finds the business by name
Momentum	☐ flat or declining	☐ holding steady	☐ growing without heroics

Reading it: the two drivers furthest left are the plan — most take years to move, which is the argument for starting now. The states describe readiness, never price.

This sheet produces no number and no valuation — deliberately. Education, not advice: your accountant, attorney, and family make every real decision with you. Heritage Platform Group is a principal and advisor, not a broker. © 2026 Heritage Platform Group, Inc.