3 Quick Ideas When You Sell A Business

There are tons of ideas you can put into effect when you sell a business. Here are some more:

1. Start preparing to sell well before you place your business on the market.

In the employment business, some say the best time to start looking for your next job is as soon as you begin your current one. Let's use that analogy for selling your business. Begin looking at how you can improve its salability right now, even if you don't have plans to sell. Why even consider adding extra work onto your already full plate? Because you know that your circumstances and plans can change, and this helps you be ready faster and obtain a better price in any selling market environment should you find yourself wanting or needing to sell.

2. Be clear whether you want the new owner to make changes to what you have built.

For example, from time to time, buyers come into the market and buy the parent company of a number of operations and, bringing their ideas of how to improve the businesses, immediately begin to meddle with the fine tuning that makes these companies hum and gives them their value. A change in hours, return policies, treatment of preferred customers, employee benefits, vendors, and all of a sudden, customers evaporate like water on hot asphalt while employees freshen up and shop their resumés. One by one, the businesses close, long-time employees are let go, and the new owners have to make a public apology for ruining a town institution. Then the former owner is interviewed, regrets having sold in the first place, and the whole thing is rather messy. If you want some continuity in how your business is run, plan on it ahead of time.

3. Apply window dressing to the books.

Can you show a steady healthy growth in the various accounting metrics that apply to your business while eliminating potential red flags such as growing accounts receivables or cost of goods sold as a percentage of sales? Do what you can to cure financial defects first, then move onto the more cosmetic areas.

By always being ready to sell, you keep that option open to you. And I'm sure you like having more options in life.