Exit Planning Advice By Market
Selling an Aerospace Research and Development Business
You've learned a lot during your tenure as an aerospace research and development business owner. The next step is to position your business for the demands of the business-for-sale marketplace.
Like it or not, an aerospace research and development business sale is a complicated affair, made even more difficult by the emotions associated with leaving a business you've poured your life into. In addition to the personal enjoyment you received from the business, you probably have concerns about what will happen to the people who made your aerospace research and development business a success.
But the good news is that there is still demand for aerospace research and development businesses that present well and offer solid earning potential.
Preparing Your Employees
As a business owner, you want to keep you employees informed about your plans; as a seller it's in your best interest to keep your employees in the dark for as long as possible. You're concerned about confidentiality, and rightfully so. However, the longer the selling process drags on, the more likely it is that rumors will begin to circulate throughout your workforce. So at some point you will have to resign yourself to the idea of telling some or all of your employees that you have listed the aerospace research and development business on the market. Your employees will undoubtedly have many questions about their future with the company. Try to answer their questions to the best of your ability, but avoid making any promises that you are not authorized to make.
Sale Preparation Timeframes
There are no effective shortcuts for selling an aerospace research and development business. Buyers want to see growth trends, healthy profits and other variables that increase the likelihood of long-term success. Next, the business will need to be documented in professional financial statements and manuals that facilitate the ownership transition. At a minimum, plan on spending six months preparing your aerospace research and development business for the marketplace. A more likely scenario is that it will take more than a year to create the conditions necessary to receive the maximum sale price.
Leveraging Industry Connections
Today's aerospace research and development business buyers can be found in a variety of locations. Online business-for-sale databases like BizBuySell.com offer convenient resources for sellers interested in promoting their business to a broad prospect base. 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. Use good sense in restricting the flow of information within the industry and focusing your efforts toward trusted industry allies.
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