B.A. Boss offers a small guide so that business or company owners can better prepare in case they want to sell their companies. In Spain it is estimated that in the next 5 years there will be some 400,000 companies for the succession, or to be sold or closed. Unfortunately the biggest part ends with a closure: almost a million (!) companies have decommissioned in the last 10 years. This is the first of about 5 articles in which we give a little more detail to the process of a sale.
1. Is it time to sell? Selling your business is an important decision, since you have probably devoted your time, money, and energy to starting and running your business. Maybe it's the business of your whole life. But now perhaps you have decided that the time is right to sell, and you want the best professional advice you can get. That's when working with a professional business broker or intermediary makes the difference between just getting rid of the company and selling it at the best price! The following are some of the most common issues and questions frequently raised by sellers. If you've made it this far, then the sale of your business has aroused enough curiosity for you to start the first step. You don't have to commit yet: you're just learning what it takes to successfully sell your business. This section should solve many of your doubts and help you in the sales process. Question 1 The first question that almost every seller asks is: What is the value of my company? To be honest, if we were to sell our business that would be the first thing we would want to know. However, we are going to put this important question off for a bit and cover some of the things you need to know before we get to that point. Before you ask that question, you must be prepared to sell for what the market is willing to pay. If money is your only reason for selling, then you're not really ready to sell. There is no difference between the value you think your business has and what you want for it. There is also no difference between what your accountant, banker, lawyer or best friend thinks your business is worth. Only the market can decide what its value is. Question 2 The second question you have to consider is: Do you really want to sell this company? If you are really serious and have a solid reason for wanting to sell, you will most likely end up selling. You can increase your chances of selling if you can answer yes to the second question: Do you have reasonable expectations? If you answer yes to these two questions, it means that you are serious about selling. In the coming week we will cover the first steps in the process of preparing for a sale of a business. If you want a copy of this article, click here.