Article Summary of How To Sell A Business Quickly in Texas:
- Considering the Quick Sale
- 2 Tips To Selling A Business Quickly
- Selling A Business Quickly
How To Sell A Business Quickly in Texas
In this article, I’m going to show you how easy it can be to sell a business quickly.
Did you just tell me selling a business can be quick and easy?
I did – and it can be easy & quick. I’ve bought, owned, and sold businesses for over 15 years. Business is in my blood.
Considering the Quick Sale
As we get older, our priorities change. I talk to business owners who privately tell me they are ready to exit, retire, or move on to their next business. You might be asking yourself now, “Is now the time to sell?”
You might be worried about the profitability of your company.
Did you know that only 40% of small business show a profit? Of the remaining 60%, only half are breaking even and the other half are losing money.
Selling can be easy, but choosing to sell is always hard. As a business owner, I understand that. You’ve poured your blood, sweat, and tears into your business. It’s your legacy.
Business owners sell for many reasons. Last year the Small Business Association (SBA) completed research on why small businesses close. Each year one out of every 12 close, a little over 8%. What are the main reasons those businesses close?
- Low sales/cash flow – 25%
- Retirement – 21.9%
- Sale of the company – 20.3%
- Opened another firm – 6.3%
- Illness or injury – 4.7%
Do you need to get out of your business quickly? Maybe your cash flow is low or you have too much debt. If your business isn’t working anymore, a quick exit can free you to get on with your life: be it retirement or your next big project. You might be looking for deferral payments to take you on to what is next.
Let me show you how to sell your business quickly, efficiently, and in a way that lets you preserve the legacy you’ve worked so hard to create.
2 Tips To Selling A Business Quickly
First — Mindset.
Think for a moment: Which entrepreneur embodies the grit, passion, and fearlessness needed to swim upstream? Elon Musk.
Musk is a visionary to admire, and a great example of how to cultivate a powerful forward-thinking mindset.
Like Musk, I’ve had my fair share of business challenges. To exit your business at the right time and in the right way requires courage, commitment, and the ability to change direction. This can be difficult, but it doesn’t have to take a long time.
Some people may want to take the easy way out and use a business broker to sell their business. However, if you need to sell your business quickly, a broker is a bad way to go as they’re more concerned about the highest sales price (for the highest commission) than a fast sale.
If it’s time to get out of your business, get your mind on the task. You have a lot invested in the business: time, energy, money. Your employees and clients are counting on you. But if it’s time to sell, it’s best to come to terms with this and begin to prepare.
The most important thing we have is time, and we need to spend our time moving forward, visionaries focused on the future, instead of held back by the past.
Second — Preparation.
Selling a business quickly requires that you have your ducks in a row. There are a lot of moving parts. When I buy a business, I look for sellers who’ve done their due diligence. This more than anything else can make a sale move quickly and efficiently.
I recommend a checklist of important items to keep you on-task for a potential sale. You can do a lot to get your business ready for a sale. Just remember: confidentiality is key. You don’t want your employees or competitors catching wind of the sale too early.
Here’s a checklist to help you structure your sale.
✔ Prepare your business
- Clean up the books
- Update your accounts
- Settle any pending disputes
- Reduce owner dependence
✔ Create a prospectus for potential buyers
- What does your business do, how, and where
- Gather key financial information (turnover, EBITDA, cash flow, etc.)
- Growth projections
- The reason for the sale
✔ Come prepared with the needed documents
- Proof of ownership
- Lease contracts
- Sales contracts
- Tax returns
- Business licenses
- Payroll summaries
- Loan documentation
Selling A Business Quickly
As the Founder and CEO of MPact Ventures, my focus is on buying businesses. I’ve bought from owners who needed to sell a business quickly. Average deal lengths can range from a few weeks to 12 months or more. With the right mindset and preparation, you’ll be able to shorten the sale length dramatically.
If you are trying to sell quickly and are stuck, I recommend you reconsider your sale strategy. Think from the perspective of the buyer. You may need to offer incentives to attract qualified buyers, such as lowering your asking price or including business assets in the sale.
I often speak with sellers who have unreasonable expectations when it comes to selling. They demand a quick sale based on a semi-accurate estimation of the value of this business. Be ready to negotiate. The buyer might be willing to accept your pre-sale valuation, but they might not attach the same intrinsic value to the firm you do. Remember, you worked hard to get your business to where it is, but a buyer is a third party looking for a good deal.