Are you considering Selling Your Orlando Business? If so here are 5 critical mistakes to avoid when selling your business:
1. Overpricing: As the recent Covid-19 crisis indicates change happens fast in the year 2020. Pricing your business correctly in the market allows you to get the most looks at your business and facilitates competition for your business. Overpricing because you “are not in a hurry” or “want room to negotiate” is one-sided and a naive approach to the small business marketplace. Price your business within 20% of the median average sold price. Orlando Business Broker Michael Shea can provide those comps to you.
2. Fail to Understand Financing Reality: 90% of small businesses sell with some element of owner financing. Choosing not to finance a small portion of your business is a negative and positions you as unreasonable and uneducated to the reality of the market. What you want and what is real are two distinct things and your business competes for business buyers. Favorable Terms are what get you a better than market rate price and if handled properly by your Orlando Business Broker and a good Attorney the risk is mitigated. Ask your business broker to show you the comps to prove this point and live in reality.
3. Muddy Records: In simple terms you need to keep clean books and records. Period. Failing to report cash or running too many personal expenses through a business a) makes your business not financeable b) raises the question of ethics in buyers minds c) negates your choices of buyers. A good cpa can mitigate taxes in legitimate ways. You will either pay now or later so get a review of your financials today and make the changes in your processes or accounting professionals should you be found to be deficient.
4) Not Listening To Wise Counsel: Business is Business. Owners of businesses spend many many hours in thier businesses and of and by their nature are independent. They are as we say captains of thier own ships and often times when running thier businesses have to rely solely on themselves. When it comes to selling a business it is for the most part a one time event. As such you need to hire professionals who are seasoned pro’s, with demonstrated results. Orlando Business Broker Michael Shea has sold more businesses than anyone in all of Transworld’s 40 years of business. With a reputation for frank and realistic advice based on data and long experience he is Orlando’s Best Business Broker.
5) Failing To Keep It Quiet: There is no good reason ever to disclose your business sale to anyone other than those who absolutely need to know. The reasons why and risk are longer than we can put here but you should consult Orlando Business Broker Michael Shea for the specifics if you must. Vendors, Customers, Employees all can interpret a sale the wrong way and as such damage your business. Keep it quiet!
For more about your specific business and its sale contact Michael Shea Orlando’s #1 Business Broker at 321-287-0349 or email him at mike@tworld.com .