It may be possible to sell your company without going thru a broker and having to pay a bunch of fees, especially in the case of a complicated sale where there probably isn’t really enough money involved to pay down all the liabilities, never mind the broker’s fee. This article will quickly touch on some key points to bear in mind when attempting this sort of a transaction.
Perhaps the single most important piece of advice when attempting to sell your company is to avoid delays. People simply lose interest, whether due to changing wants or lapsed attention, so be completely prepared with all your financials and other critical info instantly available at the asking. In fact, a professional broker would not bother putting a company on the market until it is completely available for purchase, so neither should you!
Also recognize the old fact of business life that while finding a consumer is difficult enough, coping with them is doubly or triply more so. Make sure to completely vet your prospects, especially as regards their financials. In addition they should also agree to sign a non-disclosure agreement.
But you don’t have to disclose everything yourself before accepting an offer. Assure the prospective customer that there’ll be time enough for exercising required groundwork, with the choice to back out at the last moment. But disclosing exclusive info like shopper lists or manufacturing methods may be damaging.
Nevertheless, do not hold back any negative information – get that out of the way immediately! But in no case ever admit to hiding money from the Internal Revenue Service. It may sound like an obvious no-no, but many business-owners readily get involved in such indiscretions. Simply don’t hide any income – or at least not for a year before you are planning on selling. This way, you can account for all earnings with no fear at all.
