Barbara Taylor is both a business broker (Synergy NWA) and a blogger. Her NY Times blog, Transaction helps North America’s business owners understand the arcane world of selling a company.
Her advice to owners?
1. Don’t expect a premium unless you have done the work of preparing your company for sale and made it very attractive to the next owner.
2. It takes a village to get a business ready for sale. Get your accountant, lawyer and key advisors on board months before you put it up for sale.
3. Make sure your financial statements clearly reveal how your company makes and loses money… by product and service. Apply costs in the right bucket.
4. Recognize that brokers and M&A advisors are very selective in which companies they will represent. They turn away at least 50% of owners because of poor preparation.
Here’s this week’s question. Working backwards, it takes roughly 12-18 months to sell a business. It takes 2-4 years to make it saleable so that your company will attract a buyer ready to pay a premium. When do you want to sell your company and what are you doing to prepare for the biggest deal of your life? Share your thoughts below and what you have been doing.
