Business Exit Planning

Selling a Music Instruction Business

You've learned a lot during your tenure as a music instruction business 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 music instruction business. In our experience, a common owner concern is how the sale will affect customers and employees.

Although we understand why sellers are hesitant, we're also seeing enough business sales to know that if you want to sell a music instruction business, you can - even in today's economy. Here's how to do it . . .

Sale Costs

In a music instruction business sale, pricing is based on a number of factors, including the costs incurred during the sale. Good brokerage takes a 10% success fee off the top of the final sale price. Professional consultations can also represent a significant expense during the course of a music instruction business sale. Furthermore, your time has value, so you may need to include a personal compensation consideration in your expense estimates.

Buyer Identification

It's difficult to predict where the buyer of your music instruction business will come from. Avoid pigeon-holing your search to a single buyer category. Although it's helpful to target promotional tactics to likely buyers, allow for some exposure to the broader market. Sellers should also recognize the value of promoting their sale in trusted business networks, carefully balancing the need for confidentiality with the promotional potential of their contact base.

Average Timeframes

Hoping for a quick music instruction 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. On average, it takes a minimum of six months to prepare a music instruction business for sale and many sellers spend a year or more positioning their business to command a higher price. In a good market, an attractive music instruction business can sell in as little as a few months, although it can take more than a year to find the right buyer after the business is listed.

Share this article


Additional Resources for Entrepreneurs

Lists of Venture Capital and Private Equity Firms

Franchise Opportunities

Contributors

Business Glossary