Essential things to do when selling your business

Most entrepreneurs know that life is full of surprises. One day, you may wake up and realise that the time has come to sell your business. However, no matter what stage your company is in, it's essential to ensure you've taken all the necessary steps before making such a decision.

Evaluate your journey and goals

When selling your business, it is vital to figure out what you were trying to accomplish. So often, entrepreneurs get started on their journey with one goal in mind and achieve something different entirely.

The time has come for you to take a step back and figure out where this all began for the sake of continuing forward towards whatever it is that you're trying to achieve. 

Identify your goals and what happened to give yourself some space from this process so that you can come up with something even better than before.

It is the perfect time to think about what you've been doing over the past few years, how it's changed your business for better or worse and where you want to go from here.

Understand your reason for selling

Evaluating your reason for selling is the first step in determining what to do, how much money you can get and who might be interested. It's essential to have a goal or criteria when evaluating your business to be clear on why exactly you want to sell it.

It would help if you also considered whether there are other ways of achieving your goals besides selling your business, for example, raising money or pursuing other opportunities.

You can sell a business for many reasons, such as wanting to retire early or joining the ranks of top executives in a larger corporation. Either way, it's vital to know your motivation and align it with the buyer's expectations.

If not, there may be misunderstandings during negotiations which could lead to a deal falling through. Think about why you want to sell your business and if it’s the right time. Talk to a trusted advisor like an accountant or lawyer before moving forward with any decisions.

Take stock of your current stock

First, it's essential to establish what you currently have. Then, you should compile a complete list that includes everything from your office rental agreement to the computers and furniture in the building.

It would help if you also considered adding other items to the list, such as intellectual property (patents and trademarks) and any existing agreements you've made with customers or suppliers.

It might be worth hiring a professional in the huge list of resources on how to sell to help you do this if your business is large enough that it's difficult for one person to keep track of everything.

Someone who specialises in this type of thing will be able to help you take stock, understand the value of each element, and provide advice on how best to move forward.

Have a valuer assesses the business

It will help if you value your business when selling to know what it is worth in the current market. This way, if someone offers to buy your business for less than that, they are lowballing you, which can put a value on how much the buyer wants it.

The valuation will also allow an investor to see how far off they are from the valuation. It is good practice to have a formal business plan now, including all your goals and objectives for the future.

On top of that, it would be beneficial to do some preliminary research on what similar businesses may sell for so you know roughly how much yours could go for if someone wanted to buy it.

Again, if you have a good relationship with the valuer, they should give you insight into what similar businesses would sell for.

At this point, if someone has approached you about buying your business and their offer falls below or far away from the valuation, then you know that they are not serious about buying your business, and it is time to move on.

Learn from your business journey

What are your top three takeaways from experience? What did you learn about yourself and your business that will help make next time even better?

It is not a post-mortem but rather an opportunity to celebrate what worked and reflect on where there's room for improvement. A great way to do this is by keeping track of all the valuable lessons you've learned throughout the process.

What would you do differently if you did it again? One of the significant mistakes that sellers make is not getting their financial house in order before marketing themselves.

Selling a business requires considerable preparation, and there's no reason not to get started on this part as soon as possible.

Have closure

With a business sale, it’s common to have a period where you don’t know what will happen.

It can be difficult if the decision making isn't clear from your end, but even when there is clarity around outcomes, it's hard not knowing how long until they come true.

This lack of closure keeps people drifting and unsure about their work. So it's significant to get closure even if you can't control the outcome of your business sale, no matter how long that might take.

One way you can do this is by seeking support from someone who understands what it’s like to be in a transitional period with an uncertain future. This person could be a coach, mentor, or someone who has navigated similar situations.

Another way is to create a sense of closure yourself by setting goals for the future using concrete steps that you can check off as you finish.

It could include making plans with family and friends about what will happen after your business sale closes, finding ways to keep engaged in your work, or seeking opportunities for new professional development.

Conclusion

The process of selling a business is not easy and requires much effort, both from the seller and the buyer.

However, even though this process can often be complicated, it doesn't mean that one shouldn't sell their company if they feel like there's no other way out for them.

If you're ready to do everything necessary to market your business, you won't have any problems selling it successfully.

In the end, both parties will be satisfied with the sale and able to move on in life without being tied down by a company that they can no longer manage or maintain.