The time
always comes when you decide to sell your business. You may have not thought
about it when you were looking to buy, but this situation happens all the time:
the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity becomes a financial and psychological
albatross that you seek to have someone else take over.
The Right Time to Put the Business
on the Market
Frequently,
an owner allows blind devotion and optimism, inaction or a combination of the
three to keep from offering their business for sale until it’s too late.
A variety
of things occur that make matters worse:
Poor sales: The situation may escalate into a
major problem due to the owner’s short-timer attitude.
Descent into Debt: To keep business afloat, owners will
often borrow more money that places more debt on the business’ assets. As a
result, your value will plummet.
Cutting Costs = Cutting Quality: Many owners will cut costs such as
salespeople that will result in a diminished ability to generate sales. A
large- or medium-sized business will become a small one overnight when you
dispose of valuable parts of your operation.
However, not
all businesses are sold as a result of being financially in the doldrums. There
are personal reasons such as illness, death or impending retirement of the
owner.
If an
owner reaches the point that it’s time to “pass the torch,” the sense of
urgency to sell will hit like a tidal wave. If the buyer senses this, the
offering price will drop and the terms will become more difficult to negotiate
even if the business is in solid condition.
Even if
the company is in great shape and there’s no intention of retiring, you may
find out that you have had enough and want out.
Why You Should Go with VR to Help
You Sell
If you’ve
decided to sell your business, we here at VR can help you accomplish this.
If you
consider doing so on your own, just remember a few things:
- If you run a blind ad in the
newspaper, your employees, customers and suppliers will more than likely learn
through the grapevine anyway that you’re selling, which will lead to a plethora
of problems stemming from customer relations to employee morale;
- You will be subject to a onslaught
of prospective buyers, most of whom aren’t seriously interested and others that
won’t even be qualified;
- Some may only be looking for free
advice.
Therefore,
you will end up wasting more time weeding out the dust kickers than working on
your business if you chose to do this by yourself.
Do not
even attempt to consult someone that is not experienced in selling businesses
such as a real estate broker. A few years ago, one contacted me about a listing
that he had picked up, and it was clear from the word “go” that he didn’t know
what he was doing. When I asked him whether the sale was going to be a stock or
asset sale, he awkwardly blurted out with a confused look on his face, “Both?”
This
is why you need to go through one of our VR business intermediaries. We will
guide you through the process from start to finish without any confusion or
apprehension. You will have complete company confidentiality when you’re
selling. We will describe your business to the prospective buyer without
identifying you, informing the buyer of the asking price and terms, and determine
whether the buyer can pay. Visit our website for more information or to locate
an office nearest you at
www.vrbb.com.