Exit Planning Tips
Selling a Historical Organizations Business
Your historical organizations business is a tangible reminder of the passion and dedication you've invested in your entrepreneurial career. Now it's time to put that same kind of focus into selling it.
In a down economy, many historical organizations business sellers wait to list their businesses until they see signs that the economy has rebounded, making it difficult to accurately evaluate the number of historical organizations businesses that are actually for sale.
Does that mean selling your historical organizations business will be a piece of cake? No -- but you might be surprised to learn that the historical organizations businesses that are selling these days are finding success though simple, common sense selling strategies.
Preparing for What's Next
The decision to sell your historical organizations business can't be made without adequate consideration of what will happen after the sale. Although next steps may seem inconsequential, they actually play an important role in shaping the structure of the sale of your historical organizations business. For example, seller financing can be an extremely valuable concession, especially in the current economy. But if you need all of the proceeds of the sale upfront, seller financing is off the table and you'll need to find a different way to make your historical organizations business attractive to buyers.
Seller Financing
Capital is hard to come by these days. Banks and other lending institutions aren't eager to lend to unproven and undercapitalized historical organizations business buyers regardless of the business's potential. Rather than abandon their plans entirely, many buyers are pursuing finance concessions from sellers. Although 100% seller financing isn't recommended, sellers are financing up to 70% of the sale price to close deals.
Working with Appraisers
An experienced appraiser is part and parcel of a successful historical organizations business sale. By hiring an appraiser to conduct a thorough appraisal of tangible and non-tangible assets prior to listing, you get a measure of the true worth of your business. Although the appraised value of your business may not be the same as the sales price, you gain valuable insight that can be used to your advantage during negotiations. Following the appraisal, you may choose to delay your sale until you can increase the value of assets and revenue.
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