Sell a Business Tips

Selling a Senior Citizens' Counseling Business

No one said selling your business in a depressed economy would be easy. Fortunately, a senior citizens' counseling business sale isn't as scary as it seems.

You need to get a good price for your senior citizens' counseling business. To get there, you'll need to set realistic expectations and follow a deliberate selling strategy.

If your exit strategy involves selling a senior citizens' counseling business in this environment, sellers need to make a strong case for buyers to purchase at or near the asking price.

Legal Considerations

It's obvious that you're going to need to hire an attorney to finalize the sale of your senior citizens' counseling business. Competent legal counsel ensures that the sale documents are in proper order. Furthermore, a good lawyers provides the counsel necessary to navigate the tax and liability issues that surround a business sale. We recommend hiring an attorney early in the process to gain insights about the legal consequences of various sale outcomes.

Timing the Market

Worried about timing? Believe it or not, this could be an advantageous time to put a senior citizens' counseling business up for sale. A depressed economy means lower interest rates; lower interest rates increase the number of investors willing to take a chance on senior citizens' counseling businesses. Sooner or later, rates will rise, increasing the risk for prospective buyers of senior citizens' counseling businesses. So we see market timing as a concern that can be easily mitigated by applying fundamental sales strategies and adequately preparing your company for buyers.

Valuation Methods

Professional appraisers can use three methods to determine the value ofa senior citizens' counseling business: The income method, the asset method and the market method. While the income method uses anticipated revenues as a value basis, the asset method focuses on the company's capital, real estate and intellectual assets. In many sales, the most accurate valuation comes from the market method which determines value based on the recent sales of similar businesses. As a safeguard, consider conducting appraisals using variations of multiple appraisal methods. Sellers should take note of the fact that all three valuation methods reward businesses that takes steps to increase assets and income.

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