Brokerage
Selling your business is a major step in your life and how it's handled is very important. Anything from poor valuations to a subpar marketing strategy can mean your business sells for significantly less than what its worth. This is why many owners choose to use a professional brokerage firm who has experience marketing and negoatining the sale of a business.
Selling a Business
Reason for Sale:
There are many reasons why one might look to sell their business.
- Retirement
- Overworked
- Other opportunities
- Death or Illness
- Partnership disputes
- New Passion
Timing the Sale:
When you sell, your business is significant. Not everyone has the luxury of choosing when to sell, but if you do, here are a few things to consider. The earlier you prepare for your sale, the better. This will allow time to improve and organize all of those important aspects in running a successful business before selling it off- which includes making sure everything has been appropriately recorded with financial records and strengthening customer relationships, so there isn't any disruption once new management takes over! If the financials are trending up, this adds value and appeal to a potential buyer.
Valuation:
When you're ready to sell your business, the asking price must be fair. The value of any company depends on many factors such as how large and well-known they are in their niche or industry; if there has been growing over time like increased sales volumes and sound financial. You'll want to know exactly how much your business is worth by working with a Valuation Expert.
Documents:
When selling your business, you need to have good documentation. These records will be necessary to anyone looking to purchase your business. Documents you should have are:
- 3 to 5 years of tax returns
- Articles of organization
- Lease or Titles
- Standard operating procedures (SOP)
- Current balance sheet
- 6 months of bank statements
- Current marketing plan
- Contracts
- Login and passwords to things like your website or social media
Broker:
The broker will work with you to learn and understand your business and goals. Their job is to develop and implement a plan to reach potential buyers and facilitate their questions. Once a buyer is found, a letter of intent is signed, which allows the buyer to complete their due diligence before a purchase agreement is in place. When both parties agree on the purchase agreement, funds are approved, and a closing date is set.
