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All good entrepreneurs know that they need to have an exit plan for their business as soon as they have set it up. Even if you plan on running it for a few more years to come, you will still need to carefully think about the ways in which you will be able to leave it or bring it to a close. After all, you never know what the future may throw at you, and it’s always good to have an escape plan up your sleeve!
One option that you will have is to sell your company. As long as the business is in good condition, you should find that you get quite a bit of interest from investors and other entrepreneurs. Generally speaking, if your company is currently doing well and has some healthy profits in the bank, then you should be able to ask for a very generous price for it.
So, do you think that you’d like to sell your business as part of your exit plan? Here are some tips to help you do that.
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Get Professional Advice
It’s always important to get some expert advice before you do put your company on the market. Ideally, you need legal and financial advice. You might even want to find a business advisor who can help to guide you throughout the entire process. After all, if you don’t have any experience of selling a business, you might not know what to expect! Your legal and financial experts will be able to ensure that the whole sales process goes as smoothly as possible and that everything remains completely legal throughout.
Think About The Best Time To Sell
It’s not a good idea to put your company on the market at any time of the year without thinking about it. There will be quiet periods when few business professionals will be looking to invest in a new company, so you might want to wait until these periods have passed to put it up for sale. For example, over winter and especially around Christmas can be very quiet. If you do end up placing your business on the market, it could take a long time to sell which could end up wasting your money. It’s a much better strategy to wait until the market picks up and you can then aim for a quick sale.
Prepare Your Freelancers
You will no doubt use a few different outsourced services in your company, and it’s important that you prepare your contractors and freelancers for the sale too as it could affect their work. If you think that their services won’t be needed once the sale has gone through, you should let them know so that they have plenty of notice to start looking for more work. If the new owner will be changing the company in any way, such as its structure or processes, it’s also necessary to let your freelancers know so that they can prepare if they need to.
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Be Open With Employees
You also need to be open and honest about the future of your company too as they could be worried about their job security in the run-up to the sale. Most people who acquire companies often keep on the majority of the existing staff. That way, they don’t need to worry about a big recruitment drive once they take over. If you know that this will be the case, you should reassure your employees and let them know that everyone will keep their jobs. However, if there will be some redundancies during a company restructure, you should also give them a few month’s notice so that they can start to look for new jobs.
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Get All Offers In Writing
When you do start to receive offers from potential buyers, you should make sure that you receive them in writing. Once each offer is written down, you can place them all in front of you when it comes to making the final decision. Seeing them all laid out in front of you will help you make comparisons a lot easier. This will help you make an informed decision.
Consider Using A Business Broker
To help the sale go without a hitch, it could be worth hiring a business broker. These are just like the business version of estate agents. They will help you market your company and find the best buyer for it. It’s a good idea to get a few quotes from different brokers to figure out which one you can afford.
Good luck with the sale!
