For many business owners across Western Canada, the idea of selling their company doesn’t start with spreadsheets. It starts with reflection.
Maybe it’s time to slow down.
Maybe family or health is pulling you in a new direction.
Or maybe you’ve simply realized that after years of building something lasting, you’d like to see it continue, just not on your shoulders alone.
At Salt & Soil Capital, we understand that moment deeply. We specialize in acquiring and operating enduring Western Canadian businesses that are built on craftsmanship, reliability, and community.
When we sit down with an owner who’s considering their next chapter, one question almost always comes up:
“How do you, as a buyer, decide what my business is worth?”
It’s a fair question. And the answer comes down to a simple formula that governs nearly every business sale.
The Basic Formula of Business Value
Value = Reward ÷ Risk
Every business, whether it’s a manufacturing shop in Lethbridge, a logistics company in Calgary, or an industrial service firm in Kamloops, is evaluated on two things.
Reward is the financial return and growth potential the business can generate over time.
Risk is the likelihood that those results can be realized into the future.
The combination of those two forces tells us how to value the numbers from any business in any industry on a level playing field.
The Strength Beneath the Numbers: Predictable Reward
A great business isn’t just profitable; it’s predictably profitable.
We love to see strong earnings, but the real story lies in how those earnings are built. A company with loyal, recurring customers and a repeatable process is far stronger than one with a single big client or a few high-margin contracts that could disappear overnight.
When we evaluate a business, we look for diversity, consistency, and longevity, not flash.
We look for recurring work, strong margins, customer loyalty, and reinvestment in people and equipment.
Understanding Risk: The Other Half of the Equation
Risk is the most subjective part of the valuation process; at the end of the day, it’s how likely it is that the business can keep up its returns in the future.
We see risk in many forms: reliance on one key customer, one critical employee, one supplier, or even the founder themselves. When too much of the business is dependent on one person or relationship, it carries invisible fragility.
The most common types of risk we analyze include customer concentration, owner dependency, leadership depth, and operational systems. We also look at how vulnerable the business is to external pressures like regulation, supply chains, or market cycles.
Reducing those risks doesn’t just make your company more attractive to a buyer, it makes it stronger and more resilient for your team today.
The Hidden Multiplier: Growth Potential
When we look at a business, we’re not buying the past; we’re investing in the future.
A company that’s steady and profitable today, but still has room to grow, is incredibly valuable. That growth might come from expanding into new regions, adding capacity, launching new products, or strengthening a sales process that’s been running on word-of-mouth for years.
When a buyer can clearly see those next steps, it multiplies the value. It’s not about perfection; it’s about potential.
Preparing Your Business for a Transition
Owners who understand this simple equation, reward divided by risk, start to see their business differently.
Preparing for a sale doesn’t mean dressing it up for a brochure; it means making it durable.
You can start today by reducing dependence on key people or clients, empowering your leadership team, keeping financials clean and organized, and documenting your core processes so that an incoming management team can clearly see what you do and why it works. Even small operational improvements to prepare for a transition signal that your business is disciplined and resilient.
These steps don’t just help you sell; they help you sleep better at night.
How Salt & Soil Approaches Buying Differently
We aren’t private equity in the traditional sense. We’re long-term owners.
Salt & Soil acquires and operates companies we want to keep, not flip. We look for businesses that are profitable, stable, and deeply rooted in their communities. When we buy a company, we retain its team, its culture, and its brand, because those are the real assets that make it special.
Our focus is on keeping great Western Canadian businesses consistent across transitions, investing in their future, and ensuring the people and communities that built them continue to benefit from their success.
Legacy Over Exit
Selling a business isn’t the end of a story; it’s a transition of stewardship.
The best owners don’t just walk away from what they’ve built; they hand it forward. They want to see it continue to serve their community, support their people, and grow under capable new ownership.
At Salt & Soil Capital, that’s what we’re built for. We exist to carry forward enduring Canadian businesses that are built on hard work, integrity, and pride.
If you’re considering your next chapter and want to know what your business might look like in capable hands, reach out. Let’s talk about what continuity could mean for you.