Selling a business is a big deal. After building and growing your own business for years and years, selling it off is almost like having to sell a pet or a child which you have been nurturing from the start. But the time will come eventually when it is right to sell up and move on to the next stage of your life.
Today we are going to take a look at how to go about selling your business from making the decision to succession planning and more.
Is it the right time?
The best time to sell a business is when it has been at its peak for a little while and it is just starting to dip low. Businesses will have times where they peak in popularity and eventually this will change. If you want to get the best price for your business make sure you end on a high.
What’s it worth?
Determining the value of a business is more than just looking at your profits month on month. The value of a business also includes all of the assets it has such as employees, machines and equipment, office buildings, cars, software subscriptions and more. Anything which is currently under your business and can be used by employees is an asset so it is important to take this into account when you calculate.
Prepare for exit
Exiting a business isn’t the same as quitting a job. When quitting a job you can hand in your notice and then leave a few weeks later. When you own the business it is more complex and you need to plan how you will exit without making an impact on the performance of the business. This includes finding a replacement and training them for the role and this can take a lot of time depending on your business. You will also want to make sure that clients are introduced to the new person and that they know you are leaving.
Find a broker
The best thing you can do for yourself when trying to sell your business is to find a broker to sell it for you. A broker is always a great option for this task because they know how to get the best price for your things and you can count on them to work hard to do it.
Prepare your contracts
When selling a need to make sure that you produce a very clever contract that is completely watertight and solid. This is something that can take a long time and it is important for you to hire a team of lawyers to help you ensure that the terms are correct. The contract will deal with a lot of things such as rights and patrons and so forth and it is incredibly important that every single detail is how it should be for the buyer. Once you have this in place you will be able to go ahead a sell your business knowing that it will be in safe hands.
