Selling businesses is not as difficult as it may first appear.

Do you wish to reflect on several years of challenging work and harvest the value you have achieved in your business?

This is a key moment in your personal journey through life. There is a process leading up to this moment in your life when you leave the business you have created.

I collaborate with you and know that for many it is the one opportunity to realise your personal wealth embedded in your business. However, I do come across some business owners who have not prepared and are not ready for it. So, they are likely to lose out. particularly, where it is difficult to find buyers and a much lower price may have to be accepted. By reading this page and the others on this site, I hope you will gain an appreciation of the necessity of planning to attract a buyer, maximise the price and make the transaction go as smoothly as possible.

In these post-Covid times only the best businesses are going to be sold at a decent value. Standing out from the crowd is necessary to obtain the best offer and to do this the value of your business needs to be more in five years’ time than it is today.

So, do you want to know how sellable your business is?

If you are curious about having a health check on your business, start by taking this 10-question “Sellability Quiz” quiz from John Warrillow, author of “Built to Sell”. If you would like to send it to me by email with the results of each answer, I will assess these and come back to you with my thoughts. There will be no charge for this service.

In my case, I ran an accountancy practice in north Hertfordshire. On my 50th birthday I decided I wanted to leave the practice by the time I reached 60. I set a plan in place and, although there were obstacles along the way which there inevitably will be, I achieved this and left the practice when I was 59.

Where does the process start?

It really starts with you and what you want to achieve. Once you have made the decision to do something you then decide whether that is by way of a sale, selling to management or whatever. When you have made that decision, the process can begin. It may help you to start the process by reading Where does the journey to sell my business start elsewhere on this website.

What are my options?

In succession planning, as in most things in life, there are options open to you. To find out more read the page on this site titled What are my Options.

Succession Planning

Selling businesses is not as difficult as it may seem. In order to do this you need to create a succession plan and a business separate from me. It’s a business journey that ends with you leaving it in some form or other.

In my experience it can be a simple plan – not reams of spreadsheets. In a couple of pages define a simple vision; setting out where you are Now and where you need to be in the Future. It maps out the journey setting times with key decisions-making points and defining what goes on by whom and when. The measures you need to achieve the vision are set out. Also, the strategies; actions; who by and when is really all you need.

Some entrepreneurs have an outright sale as the destination. This will be part of the plan when they set up their business. Indeed, they write the Information Memorandum on day one.

The Information Memorandum is a selling-tool. It is a harsh thing to say but it is. Its contents will enable potential purchasers to decide whether or not your business represents a suitable acquisition for them.

It must generate interest in your business and encourage the potential purchaser to meet with us and then make an offer for your business.

What do buyers look for?

In my experience buyers are looking for sustainable businesses. They will always look at the financial drivers, the owner’s involvement and customer concentration. They want cash, sales and, if available, Intellectual Property. That is, a profitable business.

These are the areas business owners need to work on if required. The value of a business and its attractiveness to a buyer lies in these key aspects – the profit generators.

Successful Exit

In my own and some of my clients’ experiences a successful exit occurs from careful preparation over months if not years. I do hope the path through this website will provide you with new perspectives on your business exit.

Best laid plans can go wrong

In this century, I have seen some catastrophic events. 9/11; the 2008 crash, Brexit and Covid -19. We are seeing fundamental changes in the retail sector and businesses with borrowings at a level which are unsustainable.

I am concerned for business owners who have 50-60% of their wealth in their business. If you have enough to retire comfortably, then why continue to retain it in your business. Is it sensible to risk it and prejudice your retirement fund?

In my paper on the website headed “What is the impact of the collapse of larger businesses on their smaller counter parts”, I set out some of the actions you can take to identify and mitigate the risks of such a collapse in your supply chain on your business and how to avoid it upsetting your plans,