Business Exits By Industry
Selling a Catholic School
You've learned a lot during your tenure as a catholic school owner. The next step is to position your business for the demands of the business-for-sale marketplace.
If you listen to many entrepreneurs, there never seems to be a good time to put a small business on the market.
Success is a factor of preparation, execution and a keen eye for the market. As a business seller, you need to go into the process with the mental goal of presenting your business in the best possible light.
Finding Catholic School Buyers
It's difficult to predict where the buyer of your catholic school will come from. Avoid pigeon-holing your search to a single buyer category. Although it's helpful to target promotional tactics to likely buyers, allow for some exposure to the broader market. Networking is another useful tool in locating buyers. It might surprise you to learn how many catholic school buyers emerge from conversations with peer groups, vendors, and business associations. In some cases, leads obtained through networking are preferred because they come with personal recommendations.
Sale Documents
We run into a lot of catholic school sellers who intend to wait until the final contract to negotiate details. Big mistake. With few exceptions, sale structure is hammered out early, in the Letter of Intent . If you are seeking buyer concessions, the time to address them is before the Letter of Intent is drafted. Never sign a Letter of Intent until it has been properly reviewed by your attorney and you are in complete agreement with everything it contains.
Preparing for What's Next
What will happen if your catholic school is a success? many sellers find themselves ill-equipped to handle life after their business and fail to understand that their future plans can influence the sale process. In today's market, many buyers expect seller financing - a concession that might not be a possibility for sellers whose next step requires the entire proceeds at the time of the sale.
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