Exit Planning Advice By Market

Selling an Art Museum

Despite the pessimistic mood of many sellers, your art museum can be a high value acquisition target for ambitious entrepreneurs -- even in today's tough economy.

These days, the small and medium-sized business market is more confusing than ever before. Although there are plenty of entrepreneurs who want to buy an art museum, capital restrictions are holding them back.

Undaunted by economic conditions, many art museum sellers are achieving their sale goals through deliberate sale strategies.

Current Market Conditions

No one plans to sell an art museum in a down economy. Although the economy is gaining steam, recovery is slow and entrepreneurs are holding their cards close to their vests. However, many business sellers don't realize that a full economic rebound can have devastating consequences, particularly if sellers who have waited to list their businesses suddenly create a glut in the business-for-sale marketplace. So what's our point? The economy isn't the most important factor in the sale of your business. Instead, you should be focusing on making your art museum as attractive as possible so to buyers right now.

Leveraging Industry Connections

Today's art museum 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. The downside of industry networks is that it leaves your company vulnerable to exploitation by competitors. Use good sense in restricting the flow of information within the industry and focusing your efforts toward trusted industry allies.

Valuation Methods

Professional appraisers can use three methods to determine the value ofan art museum: 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. Finally, the market method determines the worth of your art museum based on the sales of similar businesses in your geographic area. 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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