Business Exits By Industry

Selling a Custom Hauling Services Business

Forget about what you read in the paper -- custom hauling services businesses are being sold everyday and the business-for-sale market is poised for even greater growth in the months ahead.

Business buyers are a timid lot, even more so now that they are facing an uncertain economic landscape.

Too often custom hauling services business owners cave under the pressure and settle for a lower sales price than they should. That's unfortunate because all it takes to get a fair price in today's market is ample planning and an awareness of what's important to buyers.

Valuation Methods

Professional appraisers can use three methods to determine the value ofa custom hauling services 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. Using recent custom hauling services business sales as its foundation, the market method factors market conditions into the valuation process. A good appraiser will often use multiple valuation methods to arrive at a reasonable estimate. Sellers should take note of the fact that all three valuation methods reward businesses that takes steps to increase assets and income.

Leveraging Industry Connections

Today's custom hauling services business buyers can be found in a variety of locations. To advertise your sale to the widest possible audience, consider a listing on BizBuySell.com or other top online business-for-sale listing sites. For more targeted lead generation, consider tapping into your network of industry contacts. When leveraging industry relationships for sales prospects, you'll need to be cognizant of the potential for competitors to use knowledge of your sale against you in the marketplace. Your broker may be able to offer strategies for promoting your sale within your network while maintaining some remnant of a confidential sale.

Sale Preparation Timeframes

There are no effective shortcuts for selling a custom hauling services business. Since buyers prefer to see evidence of future cash flow, you'll want to to strategically lock in cash flows and increase profits before you list the business. Next, the business will need to be documented in professional financial statements and manuals that facilitate the ownership transition. Since all of this takes time and effort, a custom hauling services business can rarely be ready for the marketplace in less than six months. A more likely scenario is that it will take more than a year to create the conditions necessary to receive the maximum sale price.

Share this article


Additional Resources for Entrepreneurs

Lists of Venture Capital and Private Equity Firms

Franchise Opportunities

Contributors

Business Glossary