As a business owner, there may come a time in your professional career that you want to sell the business. This is extremely common, but most business owners feel lost when it comes to the idea and implementation of selling their business.
Like any other sale, you have a variety of options when it comes to selling your business, and the following information will give you insight into some of the most popular selling options for business owners.
By Owner
Some homeowners opt to sell their homes themselves, and you can do the same with your business. Selling your business by yourself eliminates the fees you’ll spend on a real estate broker, which can often result in more money in your pocket after the sale is finalized. If you’re going to sell your business on your own, it’s a good idea to do some research on how to sell by owner. There are certain real estate laws and procedures you’ll want to familiarize yourself with to ensure you’re making a smart decision and not breaking any laws or making poor decisions.
Real Estate Agent
If selling your business on your own seems too difficult or stressful, you can always opt to use a commercial real estate agent. These individuals are experienced in selling businesses, and they’ll be able to advise you on the best possible moves to help sell your business. For example, if you want to sell a dental practice that needs some upgrades, your real estate agent will be able to explain why you should invest in the upgrades, or what you can expect to get if you don’t invest in the upgrades. Your real estate agent will also work tirelessly to advertise your business and make a quick sale. After all, they earn their money based on the sale of your business, so if it doesn’t sell, they don’t get paid.
Websites
The Internet is a powerful tool, and it can be just the thing to help you sell your business. Whether you’re selling the business on your own or using a real estate agent, you can advertise the sale of your business online. You can use general resale websites, such as Craigslist, to advertise the sale of your business, and you can even add it to the classifieds section of your local news outlet websites.
Other websites are specifically dedicated to selling businesses. For example, you should consider looking at websites like BusinessMart.com and BusinessBroker.com. These websites carry business listings from across the globe, and they’re aimed at providing valuable information to potential business buyers.
Closed Sale
Sometimes you can get lucky and already have an interested buyer in mind. If you’re in this situation, you’ll go through a closed sale. With this option, you don’t advertise your business as being for sale. Instead, you and the intended buyer create a contract and go through the process behind closed doors that eventually results in them receiving ownership of your business. Closed business sales are usually done when an investment company is interested in taking over, or if another member of the business (or even a member of your family) wants to buy it from you. If you are opting for a closed sale, be sure to have a good business lawyer on hand to ensure your needs are being met throughout the sale.
