By Mildred Delgado

 You’ve worked incredibly hard setting up your business, and against the odds, seen it through that first couple of year to build a successful small enterprise. Now someone wants to buy you out, and you are interested. Sure, it’s been your baby for however long, but this could be the fruit of your labours, and would even free you up to start another enterprise, or if the money is good enough, take a bit of time off and do the things that you want to do.

However, before you press the button on that ejector seat and choose to cash in, there are a few important considerations to keep in mind. They all centre around the fact that the selling process may not be as straightforward as you think, or at least won’t be if you don’t keep these important factors in mind at all times. Here are four central tenets of selling your business:

Preparation to sell is key

If you have never thought of selling before, and now someone comes along with an interest, you may feel you have hit the jackpot. However, if you have never considered selling before, then it is likely that there are many aspects of the business that are unprepared for this potential process.

For example, are you totally up to date with all paperwork and projections? Do you have all the business numbers easily to hand, along with a completely up-to-date business plan and any other analysis which you are recommended to conduct as a matter of course? The reality is that the answer is probably ‘no’ to some aspects of this, so…

“Before you delve into the process of selling your company make sure that you have everything in place. Even the keenest of buyers will want to go through all the pertinent numbers with a fine-tooth comb,” says Alan Wrightman, a small business owner at WritemyX and BritStudent.

Engage a broker

You may think you can go at this alone, but you may want to reconsider. Engaging a business broker in selling your business may seem like a waste of money – you have a good business that people will be interested in buying, so why would you give a cut of the sale to someone else? But consider these things.

First of all, if you are the one looking to engage a potential buyer, where do you start? An experienced broker will have an approved list of buyers ready to go, and this will ensure that only serious parties will come to the table, ensuring you are not wasting your time. A broker will also be able to help provide confidentiality to the process: after all, you don’t want word getting out to customers and clients before a sale is made. Next, a broker can help you prepare the myriad of paperwork and other activities that comes with a sale. And finally, a broker will help you maximize your selling price. Do you still want to go at this alone?

Maintain a ‘business as usual’ game face

This is extremely important and was touched upon previously, but you must continue working as hard as ever on your day-to-day business, even with a sale potentially going on in the background. 

“Nobody likes uncertainty, and that’s what wind of a sale brings, both to staff and customers. The last thing you need at this stage is a downturn in performance, so keep things going as they are, if not better than ever though this crucial time,” warns Annabelle Cueto, a business writer at 1day2write and NextCoursework.

Pick the right time to sell

Most business owners, even if it is with the befit of hindsight, will know when the right time to sell is. Ideally, it’s when you are still on the up because a buyer will look at the likely trajectory of the business. If the business has peaked, the price will reflect that. So, don’t wait too long: it’s better to go a little earlier than stay in the game until a bit late in the day. Monitor the market like you never have before, analyze competitors’ performance, and engage a broker and analyst to help you ascertain if the time is ripe. And then go for it, don’t dawdle.Mildred Delgado is an up-and-coming marketing strategist at AcademicBrits, where she has already assisted on several high-profile marketing campaigns, helping to build well-regarded brands. Mildred is also a regular contributor to PhDKingdom and OriginWritings.