A Good Exit Strategy is Worth a Fortune
You’ve put a great deal of time, effort and money into your business. When the time comes to sell your business in Bucks County or surrounding regions, the process must be organized to ensure that you maximize profits. Coherent and well thought out advanced planning will expedite your sale and reduce the risk of a range of failures.
With VR’s assistance, you have the power to create an excellent exit strategy. Understanding that your exit strategy will take time and preparation is the first key step. When planned and implemented correctly, this will greatly assist in your career transition.
Every important endeavor requires planning and preparation to ensure success, and selling a business is no different. Don’t wait until the last moment to attempt and prepare to sell your business. The sooner you prepare to sell a business in Pennsylvania, the better. Please reach out to our team at VR Business Brokers located in Newtown, PA, serving Bucks County and surrounding areas for more information about how to get the process started.
Your Exit Strategy begins with awareness that one day you will sell your business.
Reasons to sell vary with each business owner and can be as simple as boredom with your own company that you have built. Or they can be complex issues, such as health or divorce. Only you know when it is time for you to sell a business or sell a franchise. However, having implemented a written Exit Strategy will assure maximum profit at the sale and great peace of mind should you be selling under less favorable circumstances, such as the mental duress of a downturn in business or poor health. A business broker in Pennsylvania can help you plan even years before you plan to sell.
Key steps to an Exit Strategy are as follows
- SET A TIMELINE. It is important to establish a timeline so that you can prepare in advance to maximize your sales price. It can take in excess of one year from the time of listing a business to actually get it sold. And there are a number of things as mentioned below that you will need to do in advance of “going to market”. When is the best time to sell? It is when you have growing revenues and peak profit performance, yet untapped growth potential is still evident.
- EDUCATE YOURSELF ON BUSINESS VALUATION TRENDS. Business owners often mistakenly think their business is worth a certain value without validating those thoughts. Business Brokers in Bucks County and Certified Business Appraisers can assist you in determining a realistic value for your business, which can be extremely helpful in your retirement planning.
- FOCUS ON KEY BUSINESS FUNDAMENTALS. Build a diversified customer base, build a strong management team, and continue to invest in technology, equipment, and the appearance of your business. All of these key ingredients will add value to your business beyond the “numbers”.
- NUMBERS ARE IMPORTANT. Before you determine “how much is my business worth?” you will need to look at the numbers. Make sure that a year or two ahead of selling your business in Pennsylvania that you focus on your Financial Statements. Regardless of how large or small your business is, “clean” financial statements are critical to the sales process and can more than offset the cost of proper accounting methods that one may normally try to avoid during the normal course of business. View your Exit Strategy from the viewpoint of a buyer. What would you be looking at if you were to buy your business? Do your P&L’s match your Balance Sheets and Tax Returns? Imagine the lack of confidence you would experience moving forward as a buyer of your business if discrepancies arose in your financial documents at the due diligence stage of the sale.
- UNDERSTAND TAX RAMIFICATIONS.To successfully sell a business in Pennsylvania is one thing. Understanding the tax ramifications is quite another. It is possible to have successfully executed your exit plan, your profits are at their peak, and you’ve even received an acceptable valuation. But do you know how much you will receive after taxes? It is critical that you work with a seasoned and proven tax professional so that you understand how the sale will be taxed. In this way, you can take steps to minimize taxation. Everything from income deferral options to corporate entity structures and more should be discussed and evaluated when you have a business for sale in Bucks County. It is important that once you’ve made the decision to sell that you contact your Pennsylvania business broker. Together, you should discuss market conditions and your immediate options.
Once you’ve made the decision to sell a business in PA, don’t waste time before contacting your business broker, as time is of the essence.
Most businesses are sold to other individuals through a broker who facilitates the transaction, working in your best interest.
Buyers can be entrepreneurs that have the same zeal you had when you started your business or industry players that will purchase your business to expand or enhance theirs.
A qualified business broker in Pennsylvania can be instrumental in helping you write a good Exit Strategy that encompasses the sale scenario viewed from every angle. Feel free to contact VR Business Brokers located in Newtown, PA with any questions about getting started.
It is our job to orchestrate this process and help you achieve your goal.
When the time is right for you to start, we’ll be there to help. Please contact us with any questions and or need of assistance.