Sell my business ? When is the right time?

When should I sell my business is the question that I get asked regularly.

All good things come to an end. This holds true for every aspect of life. Even for business.  An entrepreneur, who has nurtured a cafe, restaurant, hotel, resort, or other food services, bar or accommodation business with utmost care for years, may suddenly decide to sell it off. 

There could be many reasons behind this decision.

There could be many reasons for selling your business. We have identified four more common main reasons that prompt leisure property/business owners to sell their business.

Sell my business because enough is enough.

This may sound bizarre, but people at times just walk away from their enterprise. It may so happen that they have been operating their cafe, restaurant, motel, hotel or other leisure property/business for some years and the pressure just got too big for them forcing them to take a break or simply retire. There may be other underlying issues like family, personal, medical or other business issues, but generally, they just want to move on. Remember, ?a man?s gotta do what a man?s gotta do?, does not always hold true.

Sell my business as there is no Successor.

A lot of business owners just give up their business because there?s simply no one to succeed them. This is usually true for people in their sixties and seventies, who have to start looking for buyers in spite of having a profitable business in place which is churning good cash flow and operates smoothly. The accounts to look clean and there?s no apparent reason for selling. However, if you look for the family scion nominated to bear the torch, in the office, you don?t find them.

Business Partnership Split.

Business partnerships gone sour rocks a boat like nothing else. I walk into many places. The place looks clean, everything looks organised, the business appears to be in good order and then a minute into our conversation, I get to hear, ? he was my best friend?.I trusted him??? or something along that line. This boat is surely going overboard?No point trying to revive this one.

Simply Bad Business.

The final reason is the most obvious one. This can usually be worked out in the first five seconds of visiting new business premises. Simply speaking, the place (the freehold and/or the business) is in a mess and has serious management problems. In many cases, the owner has invested a reasonable amount of money for the hospitality business only to see the turnover shrink considerably. Despite the fall in sales turnover, this owner still wants top dollar because they believe that it is their right to at least get their money back on what they purchased plus a bit more to cover their costs and make a small profit. Buyers usually can sense this. The result is that the property/business loses sheen and gets burdened with an overpriced tag in the business sale market place.

Most reasons for business selling for the seller are clear. It is very important to consult an experienced business broker to ensure that you get the right service when you decide to place your property/business for sale. The good business broker will ensure that your business is priced correctly and well prepared for the buyers market. Buyers can sense underlining problems and are usually quick to pounce on any hint of a bargain. Many times it may be better to hold back from selling in the business market for a little bit longer.  This can greatly enhance the possibility that when you eventually decide to sell there is no money left on the table.