Tip on Selling a Business

1. Sell when the business is doing well and the business sector is lucrative. Selling the business as a successful “going concern” will yield the highest sale price;
2. Determine the market value of your business - ideally by a professional business valuation specialist;
3. Gather all key information that any prudent buyer will require and ensure that the information is up to date;
4. Key information includes financial statements, corporate tax returns and assessments, contracts, leases, corporate structure charts, projections, business plans, etc;
5. Work with your lawyer and accountant to prepare all these documents in advance. The more information that you can provide a buyer, the more likely the buyer will finalize the sale;
6. If you own the property in which the property is operating from you will need to consider a number of things as to how the real estate will be handled, i.e. lease the property back to the buyer of the business, sell the property to buyer of the business, what is the market value and/or lease rate? What are the tax implications of a sale? What are the risks of a lease?
7. Determine what financing options you would consider. i.e., earn-out, seller take-back, etc.;
8. Consider what training and assistance you would be willing to provide to a buyer;
9. Work with your accountant to understand the tax implications of the sale of your business;
10. Create a marketing plan to ensure the market is fully aware of the opportunity which should definitely include advertising on the internet.