Great Tips for Selling Your Business
It takes preparation and focus to sell most businesses. It can take years to sell a business. Partnering with a business broker or M&A Advisor is a smart step towards selling any business, as these pros know the very best tips. Let’s take a look at some great tips for selling your business.
Preparing your business to sell means carefully evaluating the foundation. Any significant problem can send buyers “running for the hills,” so be sure that you work out any problems well before placing your business on the market. If you have any litigation or environmental issues, you definitely want to address those issues before it is time to sell. Nothing will scare away prospective buyers quicker than pending litigation or the specter of a potentially costly environmental clean-up.
A second key issue you’ll want to address is determining who exactly has the legal authority to sell the business. If a board of directors or majority stockholder situation is in place, then selling a business can become more complex than it would be if you were dealing with a sole proprietorship or partnership. Again, the last thing you want is for “legal surprises” to occur when you get ready to sell a business.
If you have non-negotiable items, be certain that those items are discussed upfront. Revealing your non-negotiable items at the very beginning of negotiations will save everyone involved a great deal of trouble.
Tip three involves maintaining a flexible mindset. In most circumstances, you simply can’t have everything that you want. Both buyers and sellers need to be flexible. Sellers will want to be flexible about any real estate. Buyers may not want real estate associated with a given business, and you need to be prepared for this. Sellers should also be prepared to accept valuation multiples for lack of management depth and other factors, such as reliance on a small number of customers.
At the end of the day, sellers should partner with experienced professionals such as attorneys and business brokers. You’ve put a lot of time, energy and resources into building your business. When it comes time to sell, it is only prudent to put together the best team in order to achieve optimal results.
Don’t Want to Get Sued? Come to GABB on Tuesday, Feb. 23
Lawrence Domenico is the kind of lawyer you hire when you litigate, or sue someone. And he’s represented a lot of Georgia business brokers in disputes over the years.
On Tuesday, Feb. 23, Larry will offer advice worth hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars to members of the Georgia Association of Business Brokers and their guests. Namely, how NOT to need to hire Larry or someone like him. How to avoid legal disputes will be the topic of the GABB meeting on Feb. 23. The GABB, the state’s only professional association dedicating to buying and selling businesses and franchises, will meet at 10:30 a.m. at the South Terraces Conference Center, preceded at 9:45 a.m. by a free light breakfast and networking session. The South Terraces Conference Center is at 115 Perimeter Center Place, Atlanta, near Perimeter Mall. The meeting is open to the public at no charge.
Samantha Martin, SBA lending specialist with the Fifth Third Bank, is sponsoring the meeting.
Mr. Domenico is a managing partner of the law firm of Mozley, Finlayson & Loggins. He practices extensively in the areas of commercial and business litigation, products liability defense, and general litigation. Mr. Domenico also has extensive experience in assisting start up and existing businesses. In addition, Mr. Domenico has broad experience in alternate forms of dispute resolution including arbitration and mediation.
Mr. Domenico received a B.A., cum laude, from the University of the South in 1985. He attended the University of Georgia School of Law where he received a J.D., cum laude, in 1988. Mr. Domenico is a member of Phi Beta Kappa and Omicron Delta Kappa honorary fraternities. He belongs to the Atlanta and American Bar Associations, the State Bar of Georgia, and the Defense Research Institute. Mr. Domenico is active in a number of civic organizations and is a member of the 1995 class of Leadership DeKalb and the Rotary Club of Dunwoody.
The Georgia Association of Business Brokers (GABB) maintains a website that lists hundreds of businesses and franchises for sale throughout Georgia in a variety of fields, including automotive, business services, child care, cleaning, construction, electronics equipment, fitness, flooring, floral, food, gas stations, landscaping, manufacturing, medical, shipping, restaurants, retail, security, signs, and businesses related to the internet.
According to GABB President Greg DeFoor, selling a business is a complicated process with multiple steps and a lot of moving pieces.
“Our broker members are licensed business brokers, whereas everyone in the industry may not be properly licensed,” said DeFoor, who owns DeFoor Business Services, Inc. “GABB members benefit from continuing education, networking, promotion of professionalism and ethics in the industry, research tools, and forms prepared by a team of attorneys specifically for our association.”
“We are the go-to organization for business sales and acquisitions as a result of our dedication to the profession and our members being among the best in the state at what we do,” said DeFoor. “Our members have represented probably over a thousand transactions, and we have a dedicated membership of business brokers, lenders, attorneys and other professionals to assist business buyers and sellers at every step of the process. We work behind the scenes and go mostly unnoticed, but we’re an integral part of Georgia’s business community.”
For more information about GABB, email georgiabusinessbrokers@gmail.com or call 404-374-3990.
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