Should I wait?

If you own your own business and have thought about selling in the near future, you are probably watching the markets fluctuate with apprehension – especially if you are a business owner who survived the downturn of 2008. Business is booming right now, and your business is probably doing better than it has in years – but business was booming in 2007 too.

It can be excruciatingly difficult to pull the trigger and sell your business when there’s no real way to know if you’re leaving a bunch of money on the table because you’ve sold too soon. The healthy state of the economy is driving up the sale prices of businesses every quarter, but we all know we’re closing in on the top of that upward trend.

What to do? Sell now while the selling is good. Business owners that didn’t go under after the 2008 slide had to take what they could get from the tiny pool of buyers who still had capital to buy a business. Many scrambled to find buyers in their industry when there were no buyers to be had. If you leave some money on the table because you sold six months or a year before the market reached it’s peak you can comfort yourself by knowing that you didn’t have to sell after the tide turned and prices slid.

Taxes and regulations for business and industry are likely going to change, but only the future knows how those changes will affect small businesses. The economy is booming, and has been for quite a while. Housing prices are at bubble-like levels again, and many investment groups have slowed their rate of investing. A downturn is in the tea leaves – so if your tentative plan is to sell in the next five years – sell now.

Are you a business owner who is on the fence about selling? Would you like to know what businesses like yours are currently selling for? Ask us! Please feel free to leave any questions or comments here and we would be happy to help.

Michael Monnot

941.518.7138
Mike@InfinityBusinessBrokers.com
12995 South Cleveland Avenue, Suite 249
Fort Myers, FL 33907

www.InfinityBusinessBrokers.com