Selling a small busꦏiness is a complex venture that can succeed or fail depending on the reason for the sale, its timing, the strength of your business, and its structure.

The seven key steps below can help you build a solid plan, find a buyer, and negotiate a transaction. If you're successful, the final step is to manage the profits from the sale of your business.

1. Identify Your Reasons for Selling

You've decided to sell your business. Why? That's one of the first questions a potential buyer will ask, and you must be able to articulate a reason.

Owners commonly sell their businesses for a💜ny of ﷺthe following reasons:

• Retirement
• A partnership dispute
• Illness or death
• Exhaustion
• Boredom

If you're selling the business when it is not 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:profitable, it will be harder to attract buyers. You must consider whether your business can at✤tract buyers, its state of readiness, and your timing.

What Makes Your Busines🃏s an Attra🌳ctive Opportunity?

Your reason for selling presumably clarifies that you're not trying to escape a bad situation. Potential buyers will also want to know why they should be interested. Various attributes can make your business attractive to buyers, including:

• Increasing profits
• Consistent income figures
• Appealing profit margins
• A strong customer base
• A major contract that lasts for several more years

2. Prepare the Business for Sale

Few buyers will be interested iꦛn a business that✱ is in shambles.

Once you've decided to sell, prepare for the sale as early as possible, preferably a year or two ahead of time. The preparation will help you improve your financial records, business structure, and customer base to make the business more profitable and a transaction more attractive.

These improvements will also ease theꦰ transition for the buyer and keep the business running smoothly. 

3. Get a Business Valuation

Determine the value of your business to make sure you don't price it too high or too low. You can do this by hiring a business 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:appraiser to provide you with a valuation.

An appraiser will draw up a detailed explanation of the business' worth. The appraisal document can guide your listing price and give it credibility.

You can also back up your listing price using some key metrics. Consider evaluating your company by determining its 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:market capitalization, earnings multipliers, or book value.

4. Hire a Broker

Selling the business yourself saves you the cost of a broker's 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:commission. It's the common sense route when the sale is to a trusted family membe✱r or cur😼rent employee.

If it's not, a broker can free up time for you to keep the business running and get the highest price. Brokers need to maximize their commissions.

Discuss expectations and marketing approaches with the broker and maintain constant communication about their progress or lack of it. 

5. Prepare the Necessary Documents

Financial

Gather your financial statements detailing assets, liabilities, and income as well as tax returns dating back three to four years. Review them with an accountant. Dig up any other relevant papeꦅrwork such as your current lease.

You'll also need to develop a list of equipment that's being sold with the business. Create a list of contacts related to sales transactions and supplies.

Make copies of these documents to distribute to potential🌳 buyers.

Operational

Your information packet should provide a summary describing how the business is conducted, an up-to-date operating manual, and information a꧟bout employees and their roles.

You'll also want to make sure the business is presentable. Any areas of the business or equipment that are broken or run down should be fixed or replaced before meeting solid prospects. 

6. Launch Your Search for a Buyer

A business sale can take anywhere from a few months to years. This includes the time you take to prepare for the sale all the way to the closing, according to SCORE, a nonprofit association for entrepreneurs and partners of the 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:Small Business Administration (SBA).

Finding the right buyer can be a challenge. Plan for ongoing advertising to attract more potential buyers. Once you have some parties interested in your business, here's how to keep the process moving along:

• Have two to three potential buyers in the pipeline just in case the initial deal falters.
• Stay in contact with potential buyers.
• Find out whether the potential buyer pre-qualifies for financing before giving out information about your business.
• If you plan to finance the sale, work out the details with an accountant or lawyer so you can reach an agreement with the buyer.
• Allow some room to negotiate, but stand firm on a price that is reasonable and reflects the company's future worth.
• Put all agreements in writing. Potential buyers should sign a 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:confidentiality agreement to protect your information.
• Try to get the signed purchase agreement into escrow.

You may encounter the foll🅺owing documents aftꦜer the sale:

• The 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:bill of sale, which transfers the business assets to the buyer
• An assignment of a lease
• A 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:security agreement, which has a seller retain a lien on the business

7. Handle the Profits

Now that you've sold your business, it's time to figure out what to do with the profit that you've made. The first instinct may be to go on a spending spree, but that probably isn't the best decision.

澳洲🍌幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网: Here are a few things you may want to consider:

• Take some time—at least a few months—before spending the profits from the sale.
• Create a plan outlining your financial goals; focus on long-term benefits, such as getting out of debt and saving for retirement.
  
• Speak with a financial professional to determine how you should invest the money so that you can meet your short- and long-term goals.
• Consult with a tax professional to learn about the tax consequences associated with the sale and your sudden wealth.

The Bottom Line

Selling a business is time-consuming and, for many people, an emotional venture. A solid reason for selling or the existence of a hot market can eas✤e the burden. So can the help of professionals, such as a business bro๊ker.

You might be able to obtain free counseling from organizations such as SCORE. Your local 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:Chamber of Commerce may offer relevant seminars and workshops.

When all is said and done, the large sum of money in your bank account and your newfound free time can make the potenti🐠ally grueling process worthwhile.