Advice on Niche Market Exit Planning
Selling a Tools Retail Business
You've learned a lot during your tenure as a tools retail business owner. Before you walk away, you have one more challenge to overcome: A successful and profitable business sale.
Waiting for better economic times to sell your company? That's a common anthem in the small business community.
If your exit strategy involves selling a tools retail business now, sellers need to make a strong case for buyers to purchase at or near the asking price.
How Much Does It Cost to Sell a tools retail business?
You'll need to incorporate the cost of the sale into the calculation the minimum price you are willing to receive for your tools retail business. Hiring a broker is a mixed bag because although brokers can increase the sale price, they also take a 10% fee. Depending on your circumstances, you may also incur substantial expenses in hiring legal, appraisal and accounting professionals. If you need to compensate employees to assist with the sale, their services should also be considered.
Buyer Concessions
Sellers aren't the only ones who can make concessions in a business sale. In many instances, sellers can request buyer concessions. Although this scenario frequently plays out around seller financed deals, it's possible to push for a higher sales price or other form of compensation if you agree to mentor the buyer for a specified period of time. Asset exclusions, retained ownership shares and long-term contracts with another of the seller's companies can also be leveraged to extract concessions from buyers.
Average Timeframes
Hoping for a quick tools retail business sale? You may be disappointed. Although asking price and other factors contribute to sale time, it's difficult to predict how long your business will be on the market before you locate the right buyer. Before you can list your tools retail business, you'll need to invest as much as a year in preparing it for prospective buyers. In a good market, an attractive tools retail business can sell in as little as a few months, although it can take more than a year to find the right buyer after the business is listed.
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