Sell a Business Tips

Selling a Surgical Center

No one said selling your business in a depressed economy would be easy. But selling your surgical center doesn't have to be as daunting as it sounds.

You won't find any magic formulas for selling a surgical center, especially while the market is struggling to overcome the perceptions created by a down economy.

The economy hasn't squashed the market for surgical centers. Not surprisingly, buyers expect to receive value for their dollars - and that means sellers need to demonstrate that their businesses are capable of delivering anticipated returns.

Tips for Working with A Business Broker

Business brokers are professional business sellers. It's typical for surgical center to rely on brokers to reduce market time and increase the final sales price. Brokerage doesn't replace the seller's requirement to be involved in the sale; it augments the seller's efforts and creates a more seamless sale process. Establish clear lines of communication with your broker and respond quickly to requests from prospective buyers. You should also assist your broker in listing your surgical center on BizBuySell.com and other online business-for-sale sites.

Before You Sell

The upfront time you investment in the sale of your surgical center will pay big dividends at closing. Perhaps the most important pre-sale consideration is to right-size your expectations to the realities of the market. After you have consulted with a business broker to right size your expectations, you'll need to add several items to your checklist, including financial statement preparation, pre-sale appraisals, financial planning, market positioning and other tasks designed to communicate value to prospective buyers.

Valuation Methods

Professional appraisers can use three methods to determine the value ofa surgical center: The income method, the asset method and the market method. While the income method uses anticipated revenues as a value basis, the asset method focuses on the company's capital, real estate and intellectual assets. Finally, the market method determines the worth of your surgical center based on the sales of similar businesses in your geographic area. A good appraiser will often use multiple valuation methods to arrive at a reasonable estimate. But regardless of the method that is used, it's always in the seller's best interest to increase revenue and asset values prior to a sale.

Share this article


Additional Resources for Entrepreneurs

Lists of Venture Capital and Private Equity Firms

Franchise Opportunities

Contributors

Business Glossary