A business owner asks the question:
How long will it take to sell my business?I am turning this one over to a BizBen Blog Contributor -
Joe D. Robertson, President of Southern California Business Brokers - to answer this question for this small business owner:
"I always tell business owners they should allow at least 6 to 9 months to sell their business. Most small businesses that are priced and packaged correctly sell in this time frame. But this is an average and the particulars of your business can greatly change this estimation. Demand for the type of business, the size of the business, third party financial requirements or specialized licenses are just a few examples of specifics that will alter the time in which it takes to sell the business.
But most importantly when it comes to the time involved in the sale of a business, the biggest mistake a seller can make is to have a drop-dead date when it must be sold. Avoid this situation if at all possible. You never know how a deal is going to turn out no matter how promising it looks. It can go sour quickly and for no fault of the seller, so you must allow time for this in your planning. If you invest a large amount of time with a buyer who at the last moment pulls out of the deal, it is painful. But if you don't allow extra time for this you may have to dramatically drop your sales price or even close your doors and this can be devastating."
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