For many business owners, the entire point of starting and building a business is to one day sell it and enjoy the profits for their retirement. Some might want to pass the business down to family members, others might want to keep it until they die and then see it disposed of, but the majority are going to be tempted by the idea of making a good amount of money in return for all the hard work they’ve put in over the years.
Yet when you feel the time is coming when you might want to sell your business, what will you need to think about? It might be that all is fine, and you can sell everything just as it is, but it’s far more likely that you’ll need to make some changes and implement some strategies to get the most money you can for your company. Read on to find out more.
Get Advice
Before you do anything else, you need to get advice. It doesn’t matter if you’ve sold businesses before; each sale is different. However, if this is the first time you’ve sold a business, then you’ll need some advice anyway; otherwise, you just won’t know quite what to do.
Speaking to a business attorney is a good start, and so is speaking to your accountant. Getting all the facts and figures in place will show you where you are and give you a good idea of just how much money you could achieve through selling the business. It might be that, when you see the results, you decide to engage an expert in lean consulting to help maximize profits and reduce costs, making the business a much more interesting proposition to those who might be looking to buy.
Know Why You Are Selling
It might not seem that important, but it’s vital to know exactly why you are selling when you are ready to sell. Is it for a cash injection because you want to retire? Or is it because you want to start a new business and need to sell the old one first? Perhaps you want to fund a specific purchase, and the only way to do it is to sell your business. Of course, the only person the reason matters to is you, so you don’t have to tell anyone. You do, however, need to keep it in mind when negotiating a price.
Everyone involved in the sale of your business will want to make a deal; you’ll want to get as much money as you can, and the buyer will want to spend as little as possible (in most cases, anyway). Keep in mind your reason for selling, and you’ll know whether a deal is right or not before you agree to anything.
What About Shareholders?
If you own your company completely and you don’t have any shareholders or partners, then you can make your decisions for yourself – with advice, as mentioned above. However, if you do have shareholders, they will have to have a say in the sale. After all, they will be making money from it as well.
You will need to hold meetings to discuss your ideas and receive any feedback, which you will need to consider fully before taking the next step. Shareholders do make things a little more difficult when it comes to selling a business, but they will have been very useful to you in the past, so they must not be forgotten.
