As you’ve gotten older and closer to retirement, you decided that you don’t want to continue on with your business. Since that’s the case, one thing you may want to consider is selling your business to someone else.
There are different people who might be interested in purchasing your business, such as investors or even an employee who is particularly dedicated to it. Regardless of who’s interested, now is a good time to think about preparing for that sale.
How much is your business worth?
One of the first things you should do when you’re ready to sell is to find out how much your business is worth. You probably know that your business is valuable, but do you know how valuable it is?
Now is a good time to have a team of advisors help you evaluate your assets and liabilities, so that you have an accurate appraisal of your business’s worth. This will also help you negotiate if someone wants to make an offer for your business, since you’ll be aware of how much you could get on a fair market.
How can you help someone take over?
Once someone does step in to take over your business, it’s smart to prepare some support for them. Take steps to prepare the business for the transition, and be available to help them get comfortable. Some people will want to take over a business with little or moderate knowledge of its day-to-day processes, so you may want to include a few months of your personal support during the transition in the cost.
Stepping away from your business that you’ve put so much time into can be a bit of a shock to the system, but the transition period and legal actions you’ll need to take will take up a lot of your time. Talk to your attorney about setting up the sale, contracts and other legal requirements that need to be met for a smooth transition. Then, start working toward one by finding a qualified buyer and someone who you believe will continue to run your business in the way you intended.