I’m Thinking of Selling My Business

If you’ve clicked here, you are some way along of selling your business.

You may be coming up to retirement age. You may be ready for a change. You may be going through a divorce. Or you may be looking to emigrate. You may have built a winning company and just want to cash out.

There are no end of reasons that brings business owners to this point.

But why have I decided to write this?

It’s so you can reflect on some ideas that hold true when selling a business.

I’ve been involved in so many transactions and have identified some of the pain points sellers go through. This article will hopefully make your aware of some of the pitfalls you can avoid before you sell your business.

Chapters

1.       Is your business worth selling?

2.       Who will buy your business?

3.       When should you start the process of selling your business?

Is Your Business Worth Selling?

All businesses are normally worth something. However, it’s not usually worth half as much as what business owners think. I want to make you aware that in order to sell your business, and get top dollar for it, you will most probably need to go through a process to make your business a saleable business.

After all, what are you selling?

Can you define the value proposition in a way that makes sense for an investor? Are there objective systems that you can point to that generate a profit without you?

I repeat without you.

Business acquirers are usually skilled and experienced investors. They want to see certain things in your business, and they want to see you’ve taken the time to prepare your business into a saleable asset.

The good news is that you will be able make your business a saleable asset. It does however take some action on your part. Just as it took you time to build your business, it takes a shorter time to prepare your business for sale, but it does take time.

Ironically, smaller businesses need more preparation work. Lower revenue and smaller team businesses require bigger transformations.

Medium size businesses, which are considered, £10,000,000 plus in revenue and £1,000,000 plus profit do not require much in transformation. They do however require a skilled M&A advisor who can adequately demonstrate the value proposition to potential acquirers. A market analysis and business assessment falls into the preparatory stage of selling a medium size business.

Who Will Buy Your Business?

Not all buyers are right for your business.

Depending on whether you have a small business or a medium size business, there will be different types of buyers who are interested in your business and more importantly are able to complete the deal.

There are private individual buyers, there are small businesses, there may be a medium size business that wants to buy you. If you have an exceptional offering, you may be lucky enough to attract a large business or institutional buyer. You really have to work with an M&A professional who knows where your business sits in the marketplace.

When Should You Start the Process of Selling?

At this early stage of your intention to sell your business, one thing you need to realise that it will almost always take longer than you think. Preparation can take anything from 6 months to 2 years.

I suppose the message of this article is get started now. Get the professional help to ensure you and your business survives the sales process. The stark truth is that only 1 in 11 businesses sell. So if you're seeking to sell your business ensure you are one the success stories.

If you want to find out more on what it takes to sell a business, click below and download the sell your business checklist or get the coaching you may need to sell your business.