DECIDING TO SELL YOUR BUSINESS
Selling your business could be one of the most financially important decisions that you make in business and in life. Your business has provided for you and your family’s livelihood. You’ve nurtured it through good times and bad. It’s created jobs, profits, brand and marketplace visibility, and you’ve had lots fun along the way! But now you’re ready to move on. Maybe you’re seeking an exit right away. Maybe you’re planning for the future. Either way, if you have questions about how to proceed, you’re not alone. Most small business owners share your hesitation about how to prepare for, offer, and negotiate the sale of a small business. That’s where Harding & Associates Business Brokerage Services can help you achieve your business and life goals with professional advice throughout the selling process. We do more than simply ‘list your business for sale’ and hope to get a ready, able and willing buyer. We assist you with the issues that you will need to face in preparing your business for sale with Harding & Associates, such as:
- Can your business be sold?
- What’s driving your decision to sell?
- Prioritizing your motivations; your big WHY?
- The various routes to successful small business sales
- Setting your goals and objectives
PREPARING YOUR BUSINESS FOR SALE
As soon as you have decided to sell your business, you face two options: are you going to proceed immediately, offering it for sale in its current condition, realizing you may need to make price concessions to account for unaddressed weaknesses; or are you going to delay your sale offering until you’ve invested the effort and funds necessary to overcome its weaknesses and improve its attractiveness to prospective buyers?
Your answers depend entirely on your personal motivations, and your own goals and objectives, however Harding & Associates will help you identify and define what you want and need to achieve, by providing information that will help you plan and implement the steps you need to follow as you prepare your business for sale, such as:
- Your presale to-do list
- The necessary documentation
- Choosing your sales team
- Setting your asking price
- Preparing a confidential selling memorandum
MARKETING YOUR BUSINESS FOR SALE
You’ve set your goals and objectives and are clear about what you want out of the sale of your business, and your business is prepped and ready to attract buyers; you’re now ready for Harding & Associates to launch the business-for-sale marketing process and to start attracting buyers.
How you intend to market your business will tell prospective buyers much about how you do business, from developing a target-buyer description to planning how you’ll choose marketing channels, create and place ads, and prepare to keep the whole process confidential in order to protect the ongoing operation of your business from disruption. At Harding & Associates, we have an in-house Marketing Coordinator and will be cognizant of the following during the marketing of your business:
- Protecting confidentiality
- Understanding and choosing marketing options
- Preparing a comprehensive marketing plan tailored to your business
- Writing ads that attract and pre-qualify buyers
- Mastering the art of online ads
THE SELLING PROCESS
Once ads are placed and inquiries are coming in, now it’s time to start screening and meeting with prospective buyers to confirm interest and financial capability, present your business, conduct the due diligence process, and negotiate the many fine points involved in actually selling your business to a new owner. Harding & Associates will help you screen those inquiries so that only the most qualified of buyers are presented to avoid any wasted time and money performing due diligence and negotiating formal agreements that will not proceed due to the buyer’s lack of skills or financial status.
Harding & Associates Business Brokerage Services accompanies you throughout the entire process and especially with actually meeting and negotiating with your prospective buyer. Remember YOU are at the center of the transaction and we are there to represent you and facilitate the successful sale of your business by providing:
- An overview of the selling process
- Screening and communicating with buyers
- Showing your business and building buyer trust
- Receiving and negotiating a purchase offer
- Conducting due diligence
CLOSING THE SALE AND TRANSFERRING THE BUSINESS
Once you have successfully negotiated a formal agreement and due diligence has been completed by your buyer, Harding & Associates will take you through the home stretch of the business-sale process. Now that your buyer has passed the buyer’s examination, it is time to complete the final steps before closing the deal, handing your business over, and embarking on your post-sale goals. You will need to consult with your attorney, CPA and other professionals to ensure that the closing can happen under the terms of the agreement.
Harding & Associates will assist you through the process by ensuring that you are fully aware of your obligations during pre-closing and closing by helping you to:
- Understand the purchase and sale agreement
- Understand financing and tax implications
- Negotiate final terms
- Conduct a smooth closing
- Transition your business
- Announce the sale and increasing the odds of future success
MOVING ON TO PASTURES NEW
Harding & Associates Business Brokerage Services’ mission is to be at the heart of our customers and communities, delivering business services that allow people to achieve their ambitions and realize their full potential.
If you are looking for another business opportunity, moving out of the area or looking to enjoy retirement, we take pride in being able to help you achieve your ambitions. Being a business broker is not just about closing business deals, it is about releasing the potential of us all to achieve what we strive to achieve in life.