When selling a small to mid-sized business, owners should have their paperwork and financial information ready to go! They should also have a short business plan of past history, current operations, and potential for the future. In this BizBen Discussion several advisors and intermediaries weigh in.
Comments & Feedback From Pro Intermediaries & Pro Advisors On BizBen:
All great points mentioned by others about having appropriate documents, etc., but I find one of the most important aspects to being successful is having realistic expectations. Selling the business will take time, possibly up to six months and longer, and it also takes commitment by giving a broker an exclusive listing, so that they can seriously put the time and money into getting it sold, as opposed to the seller giving 10 brokers all open listings and giving themselves the right to sell it "by owner". One of the most important elements of selling a business and being successful is pricing the business to sell. A seller can have all their tax returns, sales tax receipts, inventory and invoice bills, etc., but nothing makes sense unless the seller is actually motivated to get the business sold, and only then will it sell.