Sales

Important Steps to Selling Your Small Business

The first thing that has to be said at the very beginning is that you are lucky if you can call yourself a business owner. A lot of interesting ideas pop to mind to a lot of us, and some of us are devoted enough so we try and cash in this idea in some way. So, one opens up a small business, and everything is going smoothly. But, it is when you start working that you come to realize that it is not all that easy. Sure, clients are coming in, money is flowing, but it just too damn hard and you want to get out of it.

negotiations

All this is just one example of how people come to the point in their lives where they simply have to at least consider selling everything. If you are one of those people, here's some advice on how to do it:

Know your price

No matter what you are doing, chances are that your business is actually worth more than you dreamed. A good thing to do is look for a councilor, someone who is in the business of, well, estimating the worth of a particular business. There are cases where someone thought that they were worth a certain sum and - after asking around - they realized that they can actually take even six times more than they thought. So be sure to determine the price of your business before you put it on sale.

Do the necessary preparations

Of course, there are certain technical things that you have to do. They are mostly related to various forms and paperwork you will have to prepare. Below, you can see a list of most of the things you will need collected and approved from Biz Listings professionals:

  1. Profit and loss statements from the past three years;
  2. Balance sheets from the past three years;
  3. Your current balance sheet
  4. Your tax returns from the past three years;
  5. A full list of all your possessions that are included in the purchase: all the furniture, all fixtures and all equipment;
  6. A full list of your inventories;
  7. Your commercial property appraisal;
  8. A lease agreement.

In different countries, different laws govern business sales, so you should look for a solicitor and ask for advice.

Let them know

When you have everything ready, it's time to make sure potential buyers hear about your offer. You should make sure that you do your "promotion" both online and offline. So, pay for an ad in the local newspaper, spread the word orally, and also check for online communities that are interested in your business. Today, it is advisory to focus on online promotions, because your total reach is much, much higher.

Know the buyer

You don't want your "baby" going into the wrong hands. Make sure that you check out your buyers, meaning that you should explore if he or she is qualified, educated, that he or she has enough funds to take over and so on and so forth. Actually, the buyer should provide all info related to his or her background. If this doesn't happen, chances are that the buyer is not a serious one. Arrange a meeting and talk your way though…

Negotiations

The negotiations are very important. This is what it all comes down to. There are two things that are important - under no circumstances should you let your guard down and do not go under the estimated price. You are selling a business - the one who buys it will earn money from it and this is a fact. You are the one that has the advantage.

To wrap up, all I can say is that business sales are tough. You are selling something that you have put both time and money on, something that you worked on, something that you built. Even deciding to sell it is tough, let alone the whole process. You should be composed and you should work on deciding what will you invest in, when you finish everything and get the money. Who knows? That investment might be just the thing you were looking for. That's the best thing about the market, right? It is so unpredictable - the key is to never stop moving forward.

If you have any questions, please ask below!