Now’s the time to double down your focus and make it happen before the year ends. Here are 8 critical prep steps:

1. Get your website ready

2. Get your personal financial statement ready

3. Get clear on 5 reasons a seller would want to choose you out of all the buyers

4. Define your target: revenue, SDE/EBITDA, headcount, number of managers, type of work, geography

5. Now, team up to help: Get some interns; hire contractors abroad. Don't make this a one-woman show. Practice inspiring and managing people with mixed feelings about you. That company you buy will have mixed feelings about you for weeks, months, or years — get used to it.