When the time comes for you to consider selling your business, your preference is it goes without a hitch.
That being the hope, there are never any real guarantees in life other than death and taxes. As such, your sale may not go as smooth as you’d like. That is especially true if you do not cover all your bases.
So, what should you be doing to try and make your sale the smoothest thing possible?
Is Now the Time in Fact to Sell?
In deciding that now is the time to sell your company, keep these tips in mind:
- Should you sell now? – Above all else, you have to conclude if now is the best time for you to sell what you have worked so hard for. Take time to look at your industry to see what the trends are. If things are rather sluggish right now, getting a buyer could be that much more difficult. When your industry is booming and quite popular, this tends to be the time that more people want to get in on it. Then again, a slower industry time may lead one to believe now they want to buy when the attention is smaller. One way to get the pulse of your industry is by seeing what others are looking to sell and are in fact being bought. You can go online and look at Salesforce acquisitions and others that tie to your line of work. Having that info can give you some good insight into how many companies on average are being sold and more.
- Proper paperwork is key – If the paperwork is not in order, things can get messy. That said do your best to have all your paperwork ready to go. The key focus of course will be financial matters. No one is going to be interested in buying your company if they do not have the financial background on you. You also want to be upfront with them about any issues involving your company. Have there been any lawsuits over time? Were there any issues with back taxes? Being upfront will make for an easier sale than trying to hide stuff that could come out at some point.
- What happens to any employees? – Finally, when you have employees under you, it is important to remember that any sale can impact them. That being the case; do your best to keep them in the loop. Yes, their lives should be important to you. That is given the time and effort they have invested in you and your company over time. For some, they may want to move on with the new owner if that is an option. For others, they may decide to look for work elsewhere or even stop working if that is an option they can afford to do.
In looking to selling your company, you have reached an important moment in your life.
As such, be sure to handle it as best as possible and cover all your bases.
