Mastering Niche Market Exit Planning

Selling a News and Sports Services Business

The sale of a news and sports services business can be a difficult and trying process. But with a few tips, you can keep your shirt and your sanity in the sale of your business.

Selling a news and sports services business isn't as simple as listing a power tool on eBay. These days, the business-for-sale market is a hostile place for inexperienced and uninformed sellers.

Eventually, it will the time will come to exit your business. When that happens, your future plans will be dependent on your ability to receive the highest possible sale price for your news and sports services business.

Post-Sale Details

As your news and sports services businesssale nears completion, there is a lot of work remaining to be done. The transition to the new owner, the distribution of sale proceeds and other issues can weigh heavily on sellers. Ideally, these and other post-sale details should be addressed early on. But if you haven't dealt with them yet, it's important to have a frank conversation with the buyer, your broker and other professionals as soon as possible.

Average Timeframes

Hoping for a quick news and sports services business sale? You may be disappointed. Although asking price and other factors contribute to sale time, it's difficult to predict how long your business will be on the market before you locate the right buyer. Before you can list your news and sports services business, you'll need to invest as much as a year in preparing it for prospective buyers. Even though it's conceivable that an attractive opportunity could sell in weeks, an immediate flood of offers could indicate that the business is underpriced.

Pros & Cons of a Sale to an Employee

Although it may seem easier to sell your news and sports services business to an employee, this approach also has some pitfalls. A key employee may seem like a natural sales prospect. The time and expense of locating the right buyer will be nonexistent and you won't have to spend weeks showing the buyer every square inch of the company. But in many cases, employees expect to get a deal from their employer based on their years of service to the company. Seller financing is one way to get around the capital deficit of an employee-based news and sports services business sale, as long as you are willing to vet the employee's credit worthiness the same as any other buyer.

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