>>The business is modestly successful. I have a particular number in mind for it, which I’d be crazy to quote publicly prior to selling it, for the same reason

>>The business is modestly successful. I have a particular number in mind for it, which I’d be crazy to quote publicly prior to selling it, for the same reason that you’d be crazy to quote your desired salary in a salary negotiation. If a buyer pitches me on 2X my desired number I will, naturally, say “That’s an interesting number. If you were offer insert 2.2X here I think we’d have a deal.” No buyer will pitch 2X if they know what X is, though. There is sufficient information there for a buyer to calibrate to some extent what X is from the author's response, assuming (a) the offer is reasonably close to 2X and (b) the author displays no unreasonably nonlinear discontinuities in emotional state as the offering price is varied.