As a business owner, selling your business is one of the biggest decisions you can make. If you are thinking about selling your business in the future, consider the following factors that will help make your business easier to sell.
- Processes and systems
When selling your business, potential buyers will want to ensure that there will be a successful transition of ownership, and that the business will continue to prosper after the sale. Every business has unique processes, systems, and techniques that help make the business successful. As a business owner, you should examine how these systems and processes are documented, as this can have a large impact on your ability to sell your business. Does the business rely heavily on the knowledge or skills of owners or other key employees? If so, it is important to begin building this knowledge into your business systems, as a business that is heavily reliant on key employees is typically more difficult to sell. As a business owner, you can make your business more saleable and less risky by ensuring the processes, systems, and techniques are ingrained in your business systems.
- Understand the numbers
When selling your business, it is important that you have a good understanding of the financial health of the business. Potential buyers will rely on you, the owner, to provide them with reassurances that the business is financially healthy. As a seller, you should be able to answer questions relating to how the business is prepared for a range of financial outcomes, such as increased costs, decreased revenues, or project delays. By having a good understanding of your business’ finances, you will be able to convey better information to buyers, which in turn will help them better understand your business and increase the likelihood of a sale.
- Curb appeal
Just as with real estate, it will be easier to sell your business if it has good “curb appeal”. Buyers will generally be less interested in your business if it is a “fixer upper”. A buyer will likely be more interested if you have invested time and energy into making the physical location an attractive place to work and building a strong digital brand to compliment the business. Online aspects including a well-designed website, active social media accounts, and a strong brand will also make your business more appealing to potential buyers. By investing in the physical and digital curb appeal of your business, you can reduce the amount of work that would need to be done by a potential buyer, therefore making it easier to sell.
- Know the value
One of the most important factors that will affect whether buyers will be interested in buying your business is the price. If you are thinking about selling your business, it is wise to have a formal valuation done of your business. This valuation will help you evaluate offers, and will also help to back up your asking price to buyers.
Are you thinking about selling your business? Download our FREE e-book that outlines the entire sale process here.