Business Exits By Industry
Selling a Canoe Trip Outfitters Business
Few entrepreneurs relish the idea of selling a business in a struggling economy. Yet canoe trip outfitters businesses continue to be sold at a brisk pace, outperforming the sales of many other types of businesses.
You survived all the ups and downs of owning a business. Next, you'll need to prepare yourself to address the rigors of selling a canoe trip outfitters business.
Too often canoe trip outfitters business owners sell for a price that is well below market value. With the right strategy, your sale doesn't have to end that way.
Negotiation Teams
Business sellers are sometimes surprised to find themselves in the position of negotiator-in-chief. When you sell your canoe trip outfitters business, your business brokers may or may not be willing to conduct negotiations for you. Negotiation is a chess game, best played with the resources and backend support of a negotiation team. A negotiation team comprised of trusted advisors and senior business leaders is essential in helping you devise a winning negotiation strategy. More importantly, a negotiation team can serve as a sounding board -- an objective presence that prohibits your personal emotions from clouding your judgment or sabotaging your efforts to negotiate a successful deal.
Working with a Professional Accountant
Accountants come into play at several stages of the sale process. From a seller perspective, an accountant can offer personal financial assistance, especially when it comes to handling the disposition of sale proceeds. Brokers often advise their clients to have an accountant perform an audit of the business prior to sale. In certain instances, it may be appropriate to ask your accountant to vet the financials of prospective buyers, run credit checks or even structure the terms of a seller-financed deal.
Average Preparation Time
There are no effective shortcuts for selling a canoe trip outfitters business. Since buyers prefer to see evidence of future cash flow, you'll want to to strategically lock in cash flows and increase profits before you list the business. Next, the business will need to be documented in professional financial statements and manuals that facilitate the ownership transition. Since all of this takes time and effort, a canoe trip outfitters business can rarely be ready for the marketplace in less than six months. A more likely scenario is that it will take more than a year to create the conditions necessary to receive the maximum sale price.
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