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Are you Ready to Sell your Business?

Exit planning:

When you sell a business, the action that you are performing is called exit planning. Exit planning is an arduous process that can take months, sometimes even years to complete. It is important that you take your time when conducting your exit from a company, as you do not want to sell yourself short. As the seller, you are looking to sell your business for the highest possible price to the buyer. To get to the highest selling point, there are 3 factors that will determine how much you sell for, and who you sell it to.

Personal:

The first reason for possibly selling a business is personal. Are you ready to leave? Are you prepared to possibly take on a new venture or enter into retirement? These are personal questions that must be asked before selling a business or even selling a portion of ownership in a business. Most people who own a business consider it to be deeply personal to them and are loathe to giving up the reins, even when it is fiscally responsible for them to do so.

Non-financial:

Non-financial concerns when selling a business are quite broad, and will definitely have an impact on the financial side of selling a business. One very big concern is whether or not the consumers consider the owner to be the face of the business. If your company is structured like Tesla, or Microsoft, where the consumers instantly think of Elon Musk or Bill Gates, you?re going to have a problem selling your business. A potential buyer will see the majority of the value placed in the company as being a result of the leadership of the owner. This obviously doesn?t apply to all companies, but even though large companies were used as examples, they can even affect smaller companies.

Financial:

When?s the last time that you did a full audit of your company? Was the audit impartial and thorough? A buyer is going to want to take a look at your books after signing the confidentiality agreement, and you, as the owner, have a responsibility to make sure that what they say is factually correct. Before even offering your company up for sale, it may be advantageous to make your company leaner, cutting off portions that are draining its ability to be profitable. This action will make your company look better on the books, and will increase the offering price of the buyer.

After reading through this newsletter, you need to ask yourself again, are you ready to take the next step? If you?re seeking help in this matter, it will be best to contact a consultant, as they have experience in this area. Consultants will provide the expertise to not only make sure that you are ready to sell your business, but also to ensure that the money you receive from the sale will serve you best in the years to come.

Where Lions Financial Comes In:

Lions Financial can provide the expertise of an experienced advisory firm that has been the go-to for many company sales and purchases, in multiple sectors such as Digital Startups, eCommerce, Real Estate, Automotive and Trucking, and Hospitality. This experience ensures that Lions Financial provides the best possible care for its clients, and will continue to do so.