Exit Planning Strategies
Selling a Visual Aids Business
A good business is about more than dollars and sense. To make your visual aids business what it is today, you've had to fully invest yourself in its success. Now it's time to put that same kind of focus into selling it.
Dire economic forecasts have forced many visual aids business sellers into hibernation. Instead of listing their companies now, they're hanging back until they see signs of an economic recovery.
Yet what many sellers don't appreciate is that a down economy can present the perfect opportunity to sell a visual aids business.
Preparing Family Members
Many sellers embarked on their visual aids business sale without adequately considering the impact it will have on their families. Whether you realize it or not, your visual aids business has been an important part of your family life. The sale of the business will likely result in new family dynamics. Subsequently, selling a visual aids business has to include ample communication and shared decision-making.
Leveraging External Resources
Rarely, if ever, do owners sell a visual aids business without outside assistance. Brokers can be an important resource for your sale, especially if you are unfamiliar with the business-for-sale marketplace. Additionally, you may want to hire professionals for legal, valuation and other functions before you put your business on the market. The early recruitment of external resources reduces your risk and results in a more predictable final outcome.
Selling a Visual Aids Business to an Employee
Although it may seem easier to sell your visual aids business to an employee, this approach also has some pitfalls. There are some perks to selling the business in-house. If you need to sell quickly, the timeframe is condensed in an employee sale because you don't need to track down a buyer. However, some employees feel they are entitled to special treatment and pricing, especially if they have played a key role in the company's success. Seller financing is one way to get around the capital deficit of an employee-based visual aids business sale, as long as you are willing to vet the employee's credit worthiness the same as any other buyer.
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