Built to Sell by John Warrillow: My Complete Book Retelling
I just finished reading “Built to Sell” by John Warrillow and I have to share it with you. This book hit different.
Built to Sell
A business fable about turning a company that depends entirely on its owner into one that can actually thrive without them.
The book follows Alex Stapleton, an advertising agency owner who is stretched thin, doing everything himself, and running a business that nobody would ever want to buy. He meets a mentor named Ted Gordon who walks him through transforming his chaotic, founder-dependent company into something with real value. The story is fictional but the problems are painfully real. Out of 23 million businesses in the US, only about 1% actually get sold. The rest just can’t find buyers.
This is one of those books that every business owner should read, even if they never plan to sell. The things that make a business sellable, having a clear focus, repeatable processes, a team that can operate independently, are the same things that make it good to run day to day. It is a short, practical read that gives you a step-by-step playbook without wasting your time.
Built to Sell Chapter 1: When Your Business Is a Total Mess
Chapter 1 opens and you immediately feel the stress. Alex Stapleton is running late to a meeting at MNY Bank. He’s sprinting through the lobby, checking his watch, catching his breath in the elevator. It’s 9:06 a.m. on a Friday and he’s already behind.
Built to Sell Chapter 2: Finding Out Your Business Is Worth Nothing
Imagine you spent eight years building something. You put in the long nights, dealt with difficult clients, hired people, lost people. And then someone you respect tells you straight to your face: your business is worth nothing.
Built to Sell Chapter 3: Building a Process That Actually Works
This chapter opens with something every small business owner knows too well. You’re checking your bank account, doing math in your head, and wondering if a payment will come in before payroll goes out.
Built to Sell Chapter 4: When Your Own Team Pushes Back
You can handle angry clients. You can deal with late payments. You can even survive losing a big account. But when your own team starts fighting you? That hits different.
Built to Sell Chapter 5: The Real Test of Your Business
Every plan looks good on paper until reality shows up and punches you in the face. That’s basically what Chapter 5 is about. Alex has been doing everything right so far. He picked his niche, built a process, created a manual. And now the universe decides to test if he actually means it.
Built to Sell Chapter 6: Finding the Right Buyers
Chapter 6 is called “The Candidates” and despite what the title might suggest, it’s not about buyers yet. It’s about something even more fundamental. Who should sell your product? And should you be willing to burn 40% of your revenue to build something real?
Built to Sell Chapter 7: Growing Pains Every Owner Faces
Chapter 7 of Built to Sell is where the story gets real. Alex has been making big changes to his agency. He has a product now, a sales team, a process. Things are moving. But here’s the thing. Moving forward does not mean everything is smooth.
Built to Sell Chapter 8: What Is Your Business Actually Worth?
Chapter 8 is called “The Number.” And it’s about that one question every business owner secretly thinks about but rarely says out loud. How much is my business actually worth?
Built to Sell Chapter 9: When Things Finally Start Clicking
Nine chapters in and something weird happens. Things actually start working.
If you’ve been following this series, you know Alex spent a long time in pain. Bad clients, maxed out credit lines, employees quitting, doing everything himself. But Chapter 9 is the payoff chapter. The plan Ted helped him build is producing real results.
Built to Sell Chapter 10: Getting a Blank Check for Growth
Alex has his process. He has his numbers. The business is running without him at the center of every decision. Now it’s time for the part that makes most business owners nervous: preparing for the actual sale.
Built to Sell Chapter 11: Breaking the News to Your Team
There is a moment in every founder’s journey that nobody prepares you for. Not the late nights, not the cash flow problems, not the difficult clients. It’s the moment you have to look the people who built your company alongside you in the eye and say: “I’m selling.”
Built to Sell Chapter 12: The One Question That Changes Everything
Chapter 12 is called “The Question” and it’s one of the shortest chapters in the book. But it carries maybe the most important lesson for anyone trying to sell a business. You can have perfect financials, a great product, a solid team. And then one simple question at dinner can kill the whole deal.
Built to Sell Chapter 13: What Makes a Company Actually Sellable
Chapter 13 is called “A Sellable Company” and it’s the moment everything Alex has been working toward starts to become real. Not finished. Not done. But real. There’s a number on paper. Someone wants to buy his business. And now the hard part begins all over again.
Built to Sell Chapter 14: Crossing the Finish Line
Chapter 14. The last one. After thirteen chapters of building, fixing, arguing, and transforming, Alex finally gets to the finish line. But here’s the thing. The finish line is not as clean as you would expect.
Built to Sell: Your Step by Step Implementation Guide
The story of Alex Stapleton is over. Now comes the part you actually need. The implementation guide from Built to Sell is where Warrillow stops telling stories and starts giving instructions. Eight steps. Each one builds on the previous. Skip one and the whole thing falls apart.
Built to Sell: Ted's Best Tips for Selling Your Business
Throughout the entire “Built to Sell” story, Ted Gordon drops advice on Alex like a professor who actually wants his students to pass. Not theory. Not abstract business school stuff. Just clear, practical tips that came from real experience.
Built to Sell: Final Thoughts on Building a Sellable Business
So here we are. Eighteen posts later. We followed Alex Stapleton from a guy who was dodging his banker’s calls, losing his best designer, and personally babysitting every single client to someone who sold his company and walked away clean.