Tips to Improve Exit Planning
Selling a Japanese Restaurant
You've learned a lot during your tenure as a Japanese restaurant owner. The next step is to position your business for the demands of the business-for-sale marketplace.
Personal and professional concerns surround the sale of a Japanese restaurant. In our experience, a common owner concern is how the sale will affect customers and employees.
Qualified buyers are constantly looking for attractive Japanese restaurants. Not surprisingly, buyers expect to receive value for their dollars - and that means sellers need to demonstrate that their businesses are capable of delivering anticipated returns.
Identifying Serious Buyers
Unfortunately, many of the prospects you will encounter aren't serious buyers. As a seller, it's important to separate the tire kickers from the serious buyers as soon as possible. Each tire kicker is an investment of time and energy that could be poured into finding a more qualified prospect. Good business brokers are adept at separating serious buyers from the rest of the pack. It's likely that non-serious buyers will want to know everything about your Japanese restaurant during their initial inquires. Avoid releasing details about your Japanese restaurant until you have established that they have the financial capacity to make a legitimate offer.
Are You the Right Person to Sell Your Business?
An unassisted business sale is a double-edged sword. On the one hand, no one knows your business better than you do. When it comes to earnings potential, asset condition, and other considerations, you are the world's leading expert on your company. However, your close connection to your company can also be a drawback. Nearly all sellers have an inflated sense of their company's value. At a minimum, conduct an independent appraisal of the Japanese restaurant to gain an objective sense of fair market value.
Current Market Conditions
No one plans to sell a Japanese restaurant in a down economy. So far, government intervention and promises that the economy is slowly recovering haven't been enough to alleviate many entrepreneur's fears. But when the economy fully rebounds, a shadow inventory of Japanese restaurants will flood the market and drive prices down even further. Like it or not, the time to sell your Japanese restaurant may be right now, as long as your willing to adequately prepare your business for the marketplace.
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