Exit Planning Advice By Market
Selling an Aquatic Plants Business
You've learned a lot during your tenure as an aquatic plants business owner. The next step is to position your business for the demands of the business-for-sale marketplace.
Personal and professional concerns surround the sale of an aquatic plants business. In our experience, a common owner concern is how the sale will affect customers and employees.
Too often aquatic plants business owners cave under the pressure and settle for a lower sales price than they should. With the right strategy, your sale doesn't have to end that way.
Pros & Cons of a Sale to an Employee
Employee sales have pros and cons. A faithful employee may have the motivation and ability to continue to operate the business. If you need to sell quickly, the timeframe is condensed in an employee sale because you don't need to track down a buyer. Yet most employees lack the means to buy their employer's business at or near the asking price. Seller financing is one way to get around the capital deficit of an employee-based aquatic plants business sale, as long as you are willing to vet the employee's credit worthiness the same as any other buyer.
Pre-Sale Checklist
The upfront time you investment in the sale of your aquatic plants business 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. Once your expectations are in the ballpark, you can move on to making your business presentable to prospective buyers.
Working with Appraisers
There is no substitute for a qualified appraisal in the sale of your aquatic plants business. Leading industry appraisers equip sellers with a value gauge that can be accessed during negotiations. If you're disappointed with the appraiser's estimate of your company's worth, you have the option of seeking a second opinion. However, it's more often the case that you will need to adjust your expectations of your business's value to buyers.
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