“I’m ready to put my business on the market, how should it look?”

Is your business in the kind of shape it needs to be in order to sell? Most owners think that the business is fine as-is. This is typically not the case. If you would like to get top dollar for your business, it needs to be appealing to a potential buyer. While the aesthetics, like cleanliness and fresh paint do a lot for a first impression, the “guts” of your business are what really need to be appealing to a buyer. 

How do you make the “guts” of your business more appealing?

First, get everything in order. If your financials are a mess or are nothing more than a few boxes stuffed with papers, you will need to sit down with your business broker or business transaction accountant and get them worked out. A buyer will need to be able to understand your numbers if you want them to make a fair offer for the business.

Once you have an offer on the table, the examination of your numbers hasn’t ended, it has just begun. What happens after an offer is made is a process called “due diligence”. In this stage the buyer will get a chance to comb over all aspects of the business, and then they have the opportunity to decide if they would like to proceed to the closing table. If your business has any issues that are unresolved, they will most likely come to light during this time, and will drive a buyer away. Solve potential problems before a buyer finds them. This will help keep buyers from walking away.

Another way to make your business look like a great opportunity to potential buyers is to use the services of a business broker. There are multitudes of issues that can kill a deal, and in order to be aware of what those are, you need the help of someone who has been through the process many times before. The experience of your broker during the marketing and due diligence aspects of a business sale will be instrumental in securing the very best price and a successful closing.

Have any questions about how we would help get your business into “sale shape”? Have you tried to sell a business and lost a deal because of unresolved issues? Please feel free to share your experiences or questions here. We look forward to speaking with you.

Michael Monnot

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

https://infinitybusinessbrokers.com