Sell a Business for the Best Price
Selling a Public Speakers Business
With the economy limping along, many public speakers business owners are hesitant to put their businesses on the market. At Gaebler, we think it's a great time to sell a public speakers business. Here's why . . ..
In a down economy, many public speakers business sellers wait to list their businesses until they see signs that the economy has rebounded, making it difficult to accurately evaluate the number of public speakers businesses that are actually for sale.
If your exit strategy involves selling a public speakers business in this environment, you need to apply the right combination of preparation, strategy and common sense.
Setting the Stage
Effective public speakers business preparation focuses on communicating value to prospective buyers. Professional business brokers understand buyers and know how to properly communicate a public speakers business to the marketplace. Specifically, brokers can advise you about the preparation of financial statements and other documents buyers expect to see in a premium public speakers business opportunity.
Seller Financing
Capital is hard to come by these days. Financial institutions have tightened up their lending policies, making it difficult for inexperienced and undercapitalized entrepreneurs to buy public speakers businesses. As a result, buyers expect sellers to finance a significant portion of the sale. It's common for sellers to finance as much as 70% of the purchase price with a payoff period of four or five years, sometimes in the form of a balloon payment at the end of the repayment period.
When the Sale Goes Off-Course
Many public speakers business are tempted to save brokerage fees by selling their businesses on their own. Although there are exceptions, solo sales typically take longer and are less productive than brokered sales. As a rule, no business should sit on the market for more than six months without attracting the interest of at least a handful of qualified buyers. Lack of buyer enthusiasm or persistence indicates that something is wrong. The remedy is professional brokerage or a consultation with more experienced sellers.
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