Many owners don’t know how to address potential deal killers when it comes to selling their business, which can stop future goals in their tracks. Here are a few common ones and how to address them, so you can keep your goals going full steam ahead.

Making Assumptions

When it comes to financial needs, there’s two big assumptions that pop up when business owners look to sell:

• They assume they can sell the business immediately and achieve financial independence.
• They assume the market will value the business as highly as they do.

Pre-sale planning is key to addressing these common pitfalls. 

Often, owners think they can live on less money after they sell. That’s rarely the case. To ensure you’re able to live the life and have the financial security you want, you need to objectively determine how much money you will need. This goes beyond your basic needs, such as living expenses. How much will you need to enjoy life the way you want to? You worked hard building your business. You want to be secure in enjoying the fruits of that labor.

Speaking of the hard work it took to get your business where it is, owners often see the business as part of their identity. Therefore, it’s hard to gain an accurate picture of the business value and easy to overvalue it. This can produce impossible expectations and inhibit proper planning. Getting an objective estimate of your company’s value from a certified business valuation specialist is key.

Doing it Alone 

Buyers will come to the table with teams to haggle a deal with the least cost to them and the highest yield out of your business. Going it alone can leave you outnumbered and hung out to dry. 

Hiring a deal team to work with is key. They can help you find and fix flaws in your business before buyers see them. This helps put you in the driver’s seat of a deal, rather than being a passenger at the whims of buyers seeking out flaws to lower their offers.

Regret

Walking away from your life’s work is hard to do. Everything can go right in the planning, but as the sale date approaches, regret might creep in. You’ve prepared your business for a future without you, but have you prepared yourself for a future without your business? 

What does success look like for you? What are the goals you wish to achieve? The right advisors can help you identify and prioritize your objectives. After all, it’s your business, your life, and your future. The right exit plan should have your goals at the forefront.

Our team can work with you to craft the right plan for your future and the future of your company. Talk to us today about your goals for the future and about how we can help get you there.