Exit Planning Tips

Selling a Home Health Care Oxygen Equipment and Supplies Business

The business-for-sale marketplace has experienced no shortage of uncertainty over the past several years. But home health care oxygen equipment and supplies businesses continue to sell at a brisk pace, regardless of the economy.

The business-for-sale market is just as frustrating for buyers as it is for sellers these days. Although there are plenty of entrepreneurs who want to buy a home health care oxygen equipment and supplies business, capital restrictions are holding them back.

If your exit strategy involves selling a home health care oxygen equipment and supplies business now, you need to apply the right combination of preparation, strategy and common sense.

Signs You're in Over Your Head

The home health care oxygen equipment and supplies business-for-sale marketplace is a mixed bag of brokered sales and solo efforts. Although there are exceptions, solo sales typically take longer and are less productive than brokered sales. As a rule, no business should sit on the market for more than six months without attracting the interest of at least a handful of qualified buyers. Lack of buyer enthusiasm or persistence indicates that something is wrong. Hire a broker and conduct a professional appraisal ASAP.

Negotiation Teams

Business sellers are sometimes surprised to find themselves in the position of negotiator-in-chief. When you sell your home health care oxygen equipment and supplies business, your business brokers may or may not be willing to conduct negotiations for you. But although you will responsible for negotiating terms with buyers, you should never approach negotiations without support. A negotiation team comprised of trusted advisors and senior business leaders is essential in helping you devise a winning negotiation strategy. More importantly, a negotiation team can serve as a sounding board -- an objective presence that prohibits your personal emotions from clouding your judgment or sabotaging your efforts to negotiate a successful deal.

Current Market Conditions

At first glance, today's market would seem to be a hostile place for home health care oxygen equipment and supplies business sellers. So far, government intervention and promises that the economy is slowly recovering haven't been enough to alleviate many entrepreneur's fears. However, many business sellers don't realize that a full economic rebound can have devastating consequences, particularly if sellers who have waited to list their businesses suddenly create a glut in the business-for-sale marketplace. So what's our point? The economy isn't the most important factor in the sale of your business. Instead, you should be focusing on making your home health care oxygen equipment and supplies business as attractive as possible so to buyers right now.

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