Sell a Business Tips

Selling a Sidewalk Cafes Business

You've learned a lot during your tenure as a sidewalk cafes business owner. The next step is to position your business for the demands of the business-for-sale marketplace.

Selling a sidewalk cafes business? You'll need to be prepared to address a variety of challenges that are common in the business-for-sale marketplace.

In our opinion, that kind of thinking doesn't make sense. In fact, this might be the perfect time to sell a sidewalk cafes business. Here's how to do it . . .

Timing the Market

Now may be the best time to sell a sidewalk cafes business. A depressed economy means lower interest rates; lower interest rates increase the number of investors willing to take a chance on sidewalk cafes businesses. As the interest rates rise, it will be more difficult for buyers to make the numbers work in their favor. Market conditions can be intimidating. But your larger concern should be whether or not your business is ready to be presented to qualified sale prospects.

Identifying Serious Buyers

Unfortunately, many of the prospects you will encounter aren't serious buyers. As a seller, it's important to separate the tire kickers from the serious buyers as soon as possible. Each tire kicker is an investment of time and energy that could be poured into finding a more qualified prospect. Good business brokers are adept at separating serious buyers from the rest of the pack. It's likely that non-serious buyers will want to know everything about your sidewalk cafes business during their initial inquires. Avoid releasing details about your sidewalk cafes business until you have established that they have the financial capacity to make a legitimate offer.

Advantages of Hiring a Broker

A good broker can offer several benefits to business sellers. Right out of the gate, brokers know how to help their clients properly prepare their businesses for a sale. More importantly, brokers have the ability to identify serious buyers and maintain confidentiality throughout the sale process. Brokerage isn't cheap. But even though you can spend as much as 10% of the sale price on a good broker, you'll likely achieve decent ROI through an improved final sale price.

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