^Blog Successfully Selling Your Business

There will come a time when you will part ways with your business. When you get to the point you’re ready to disconnect from it, it makes sense that you should get some value for what you spent your life building. As we’ve discussed before, a business sale is a great way for you to make this happen.

That said, few things are more disappointing than starting down the path of selling your business and having the process fall apart, forcing you to start all over again. Unfortunately, this can be a common experience.

Several things might cause a sale to fall apart, including divorce, misrepresentations by the seller, a low offer from a purchaser, a decline in the overall economy, and so on. Any of those reasons could cause negotiations to fall apart and result in you running your business longer than you planned.

So, how can you increase your odds of a successful sale?

We have found the best way to increase your odds is to bring in a good business sale advisor or broker. This person will be able to look at your business through the lens of a prospective purchaser. They’ll identify issues in your business that you’d never be able to see but could cause negotiations to fall apart. They’ll ensure your financial records are clean and will identify ways to help the business run without you in it.

An experienced broker will also be in a good position to help you understand what a reasonable purchase price is for your business, defend their valuation, and set your expectations accordingly. This will provide you with a benchmark against which you can compare offers to determine if an offer is fair.

Perhaps most importantly is that when you enter the marketing and negotiation stage, a broker will be well-positioned to seek out prospective purchasers and represent you confidentially and professionally. Finally, when offers start to come, they’ll be able to help you evaluate the offers and respond in a timely and appropriate manner.

In the absence of all this being done properly, it can be exceedingly difficult to find a buyer and close the sale on your own.

Selling a business is something most people have never done, but the results of the process have an enormous impact on a business family. In order to increase your odds, it’s important to surround yourself with the right team to guide you through the process.

If you are looking to start planning for the sale of your business, the advisors at Three60 Wealth & Estate Solutions can help. Three60 Wealth & Estate Solutions helps business families reclaim their time, gain peace of mind and achieve their own unique version of success. The team of Calgary-based wealth and estate planners have curated a trusted network of professionals to eliminate your planning blind spots and identify potential opportunities you may not realize you have.

For a truly different financial planning experience, contact our office online or at 403-640-4414 to schedule an introduction meeting.

Authored by: Wayne De Boer, Wealth & Estate Planner at Three60 Wealth & Estate Solutions Inc.