Mastering Niche Market Exit Planning

Selling a Newspaper Correspondents Business

It's a misconception that no one is buying newspaper correspondents businesses these days. Savvy entrepreneurs see newspaper correspondents business opportunities as a path to short-term profits and long-term growth. There aren't any guarantees, but if you adhere to fundamental business sale concepts, you can likely get a good price for your business.

Waiting for better economic times to sell your company? That's a common anthem in the small business community.

Yet what many sellers don't appreciate is that a down economy can present the perfect opportunity to sell a newspaper correspondents business.

The Best Person to Sell Your Newspaper Correspondents Business

As the owner, you are both the best and worst person to sell your newspaper correspondents business. Without a doubt, you have the most at stake in the outcome of your sale. That makes you the most passionate advocate for your newspaper correspondents business in the business-for-sale marketplace. The problem is that your passion for your business can also sabotage your sale. Nearly all sellers have an inflated sense of their company's value. So in many cases, the introduction of third-party opinions regarding value and negotiation parameters is a fundamental requirement for a successful newspaper correspondents business sale.

Average Timeframes

It's rarely possible to sell a newspaper correspondents business in a month or two. 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. To adequately prepare your business listing, plan on spending six months to a year prior to listing. Once your business is ready for the marketplace, it could take an additional six months to a year to locate the right buyer.

Buyer Concessions

Sellers aren't the only ones who can make concessions in a business sale. In many instances, sellers can request buyer concessions. Although this scenario frequently plays out around seller financed deals, it's possible to push for a higher sales price or other form of compensation if you agree to mentor the buyer for a specified period of time. Asset exclusions, retained ownership shares and long-term contracts with another of the seller's companies can also be leveraged to extract concessions from buyers.

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