If you are a small business owner, the first quarter of the New Year is a great time to reevaluate your exit strategy for your business.

Wait, exit strategy? I don’t really have one. Should I have an exit strategy in place?

Yes, you absolutely should. Any well-conceived business plan comes with a well-defined exit strategy. That exit strategy should address a very important question:

What are your plans for the succession of your business when you are no longer able or willing to be the owner?

If you have not asked yourself this question, now is as good a time as any.

Some owners who have children automatically assume that those children will take over the reins when they retire, but as with many family-related issues, parents don’t necessarily know what their children actually want. If automatic family-succession is your current plan, but you’ve never had a serious family discussion on the subject – you need to have a talk with your kids to see if this is actually what they want.

If your children do not want to take over the business, then a great option to get back a return on your investment of time, energy and money is to sell the business.

If you don’t have kids, then selling your business is the only way to continue the legacy of what you’ve built and get a return on your investment.

Ok, so I plan to sell when I’m ready, but when is the best time?

Honestly, now.

Right now, it is a seller’s market – but it won’t be that way for much longer. Listing prices are nice and high after the economic rebound that has occurred in the last few years, and there tends to be more buyers in the market than businesses for sale. Any business seller who thinks they may want to sell in the next five years really should consider selling now. A whole wave of baby boomer business owners are on the brink of retirement, and when they decide to hang up their business owner hats and hit the golf course? The market will be flooded with newly listed businesses for sale – shifting to a buyer’s market.

Get you business on the market in 2016, before the tide turns!

Have you considered selling in the near future? Are you curious about what businesses comparable to yours have recently sold for? Ask us! Please feel free to leave any comments or questions 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

https://infinitybusinessbrokers.com