3 Things to Remember When Selling a Business
May 10th, 2013 by Bryan Brown
The decision to sell your business can be a difficult one. Many owners pour their hearts and souls into their businesses. Owning a business can be tremendously rewarding, but many times owners find that they eventually need more time outside of work, or no longer enjoy what they do, or find that the demands of family life mean that they no longer have time for both family and ownership. Actually selling a business is often just as complicated as making the decision to do so. However, by keeping the following points in mind, owners can reduce stress and risk for themselves and bring about a more desirable outcome in the end.
Hire an Experienced Team to Advise You
Now is not the time to cut corners by hiring friends or rookies as your advisers. An experienced team is the way to go. It takes years to build a business, but a single mistake during the selling process can lay it all to waste. Make sure to assemble an experienced team consisting of an attorney, an accountant, a broker, a financial adviser, and a business generalist. The more experience your team members have, the better.
Along the same lines, make sure to use an intermediary to sell your business. Don’t try to cut costs by representing yourself. Ensure that whoever you hire is representing you and only you, not you and the buyer. This will save you time, money and headache throughout the sales process, and will help you secure a fair price for your life’s work.
Keep Your Business in Good Shape
Just because you’re selling a business doesn’t mean that the success of that business stops being important. On the contrary, it is just as important, if not more so, since a faltering company during the selling process can hurt or even completely halt a sale.
To help keep your business from going downhill during the sale process, make sure to tie your most valuable employees to the business by having them sign agreements that are transferable to the new owner. The last thing you need is having your most experienced employees leave the business to work for your competition, or worse, to leave and take customers with them!
Brace Yourself for Some Disappointment
You poured yourself into your business. Even if you end up happy with your side of the sale, you may still experience some disappointment at the end of the process. Old owners often find themselves disapproving of changes that the new owners make. Accept that this will happen well in advance to minimize the frustration you feel.
You may also experience some sense of purposelessness when the sale is all over. If you were accustomed to spending most of your week working at your business, you may suddenly find yourself with nothing to do. Decide in advance how you will use your newfound freedom to keep your life meaningful.