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Prepare Your Business For Your Ultimate Customer
by Noel Peebles
Author of "Sell Your Business The Easy Way"
Most business entrepreneurs would rather be in the drivers seat
than to be driven. Yet, surprisingly enough, many business
owners put little effort into planning to sell to their biggest and
ultimate customer... the person (or company) that buys their
business.
I've seen genuine hardworking people struggle and persevere to
build up a successful business, only to watch them fail to reap
their deserved rewards when they come to cash-out. They don't
know what to do, or where to go. They lack the required
skills to present their business effectively to potential buyers.
The end result; they get stressed-out and bitterly
disappointed with the outcome.
Don't fall into the same trap. The day will come when you
want to (or have to) sell your business and cash-out. That
might not be in the near future, but now is the time to start
planning for your ultimate sale.
Self-made millionaire entrepreneur Mal Emery, has bought,
developed and sold 14 businesses. Mal had this to say:
"Before I even consider
buying a business, I must be able to visualise or articulate a
clear and concise picture of what that business will look like
when I sell out."
"You see, I design all my businesses to sell. I call the
buyer of my business, my ultimate customer... the one who puts
me out of business."
Even if you are many years away from selling, it still pays to
plan an exit strategy, because that time will eventually come.
What would happen if you died unexpectedly ?
If you haven't got a workable exit strategy in place, your heirs
may have no choice but to place the business with an agent and say:
"Get what you can for it". The assets may be liquidated and
sold off piecemeal, getting virtually nothing for the goodwill
you've built up over the course of many years.
Plan for the big change well before the signs of burn-out,
boredom or apathy start to show in your balance sheet. A
decline in the financial results will, more than likely, scare
buyers (and their lenders) away. You could get less for your
business than what it’s really worth.
You'll have more chance of coming out on top, both financially
and personally, if you make an effort to understand the steps to
selling. You need to spend time on careful planning, so that when
you're ready, you can take the time to negotiate a price and terms
that will satisfy your reasons for selling.
This Article is copyright © Noel Peebles
Author "Sell Your Business The Easy
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