Niche Exit Planning Tactics
Selling a Wine Bar
At first glance, an unstable economy would seem to be an unfriendly atmosphere for a wine bar sale. But in reality, now may be the perfect time to sell a wine bar.
You've invested too much in your wine bar to let it be sold for less than its worth. But unless you adequately prepare for the sale, some lucky buyer may walk away with a huge discount.
Before opening a wine bar, survey the local wine community to identify gaps in the marketplace.
To achieve your goals, you'll need to know the market as well as key business selling techniques. As a business seller, you need to go into the process with the mental goal of presenting your business in the best possible light.
Tips for Seller Financing
Capital is hard to come by these days. Banks and other lending institutions aren't eager to lend to unproven and undercapitalized wine bar buyers regardless of the business's potential. Rather than abandon their plans entirely, many buyers are pursuing finance concessions from sellers. Although 100% seller financing isn't recommended, sellers are financing up to 70% of the sale price to close deals.
Average Preparation Time
There are no effective shortcuts for selling a wine bar. For starters, the financials need to demonstrate a track record of profitability and growth. You'll also need to create financial reports, operations manuals, and other documents to create the perception of a turnkey wine bar operation. Since all of this takes time and effort, a wine bar can rarely be ready for the marketplace in less than six months. A more likely scenario is that it will take more than a year to create the conditions necessary to receive the maximum sale price.
Tapping Into Business Networks
There are a lot of different places to look for wine bar buyers. Online business-for-sale databases like BizBuySell.com offer convenient resources for sellers interested in promoting their business to a broad prospect base. More focused prospects are typically found within industry networks. Time and time again, successful wine bar sales emerge from relationships within the industry. The challenge is to leverage industry connections while keeping knowledge of the sale hidden from your competitors. Use good sense in restricting the flow of information within the industry and focusing your efforts toward trusted industry allies.
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