Sell a Business Tips
Selling a Sports Cards and Memorabilia Business
Maybe you're counting on your sports cards and memorabilia business to be a stepping stone to your next big business venture. Maybe it's your retirement fund. Either way, you need to maximize the price it gets in the business-for-sale marketplace.
An assortment of hurdles and obstacles stand between you and the successful sale of your sports cards and memorabilia business.
But at Gaebler, we see sports cards and memorabilia businesses still selling at a brisk pace. Like always, unprofitable and poorly positioned businesses struggle to find buyers while sellers who have invested time and effort to prepare their sale are being rewarded in the marketplace.
Sale Preparation Timeframes
It's critical to properly plan for the sale ofa sports cards and memorabilia 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. Unless you have already started planning for your sports cards and memorabilia business sale, it's going to take at least six months to prepare your business. A more likely scenario is that it will take more than a year to create the conditions necessary to receive the maximum sale price.
Negotiation 101
As a business seller, you have to be at the top of your negotiating game. Information is the key to a great sports cards and memorabilia business negotiation. However, the first step in good negotiating is to develop a sense of what you need to get out of the deal. A thorough understanding of sale price, possible concessions and other bottom line requirements gives you the ability to negotiate with confidence. If you aren't sure what you need, put negotiations on hold until you gain a clearer understanding of your own deal parameters.
Legal Concerns
A basic understanding of legal requirements is foundational for a successful business sale. Despite the confusion that exists among many sellers, the essentials of the sale are described in the Letter of Intent, a seminal document that is created prior to due diligence . By the time the deal reaches the final contract, many of its features are set in stone. For sellers, that makes a close review of the Letter of Intent more than a formality - it's a critical juncture on the path to closing.
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