Seller Tutorial

[Sellers]   [Sellers Tutorial]   [Seller FAQ's]

Is it time to sell?  Are you ready to exit?  Selling your business is a major decision! You have devoted your time, money, and energy to building, running, and operating your business.  It may well represent your life's work.  You may have already decided that now is the right time to sell, and you want the very best professional guidance you can get.  Carrara is the right choice!

Question 1
The first question almost every seller asks is: "What is my business worth?"
We recommend having a 3rd party appraisal of the business.  It doesn't make any difference what you think your business is worth, or what you want for it.  The valuation will give you a range of what the marketplace pay for the business. 

Question 2
Do you really want to sell this business… and do you have reasonable expectations?   If you're really serious and have a solid reason(s) why you want to sell (ie. retire) and your expectations are reasonable and inline with the market, then it will most likely happen.

The First Steps
Let's assume that you have decided to sell your business.  Below is a checklist of the items you should get together:

• Three years Financial statements (Income Statements and Balance Sheet)
• Federal Income Tax returns for the business.
• List of fixtures and equipment.
• All leases, including equipment leases.
• A list items included as well as excluded from sale of company.
• A copy of the franchise agreement, if applicable.
• Consider having a valuation on company performed.

What Do Buyers Want to Know?
This may be a bit premature since you may not have decided to sell, but it may help in your decision making process to understand not only who the buyer is, but also what he or she will want to know in order to buy your business.  Here are some questions that you might be asked and, should be prepared to answer:

• How much down-payment is required to buy the business?
• Is the Seller providing any financing?
• What is owners discretionary cash flow?
• What is the annual increase in sales?
• What is included and what is excluded from the sale of the business?
• Will the seller train and stay on for awhile?
• What makes the business different/special/unique?
• What can be done to grow the business?  Why didn’t the current owner do it?
• Who are the competitors?
• Who are the customers?
• What marketing tools are in place by the current owner?

 

[Sellers]   [Sellers Tutorial]   [Seller FAQ's]