In brief: Value usually improves when earnings quality, growth visibility, diversification, documentation and transferability improve while key-person and platform risks fall.
Improve earnings quality
Stable, well-documented profit is generally easier for a buyer to underwrite than volatile profit dependent on one unusual event or discretionary owner adjustment.
Reduce concentration
Diversify major customers, traffic channels, suppliers or products where concentration creates a realistic single-point failure.
Reduce owner dependence
Document repeatable processes and move critical relationships or tasks away from a founder-only workflow.
Strengthen transferability
Clarify IP ownership, contracts, licenses, account access and technical documentation so the buyer can see how control will move.
Do not sacrifice the business for a cosmetic metric
Cutting essential costs to inflate short-term profit can damage growth or create hidden maintenance problems. Buyers often discount earnings they believe are unsustainable.