PREPARE YOUR BUSINESS FOR SALE - More Questions than Answers

PREPARE YOUR BUSINESS FOR SALE

More Questions Than Answers

For a while, with his permission, I will be posting articles from Mark Corke of Suitegum.

Mark is a Business Broker, who writes articles on, and runs seminars on “Preparing you Business for Sale”. Should you wish to register for some of Mark’s free articles and tips, Here is the link.

Both Mark and I are of the opinion that ensuring that your Business is Prepared for Sale at all times will ensure that your business always commands the highest value. It actually increases the value of your Business quite considerably.

Most businesses don't sell for anything close to the value they should, and frankly... THAT'S JUST WRONG. Particularly when the owner isn't around to defend the value.

If you were to sell your business today, would you get true value for it? And if you were not around, would your loved ones be able to sell it for what it's worth? Do you really think they could? Do you even know what the real value of your business is? The simple truth is that businesses are often sold unprepared under unforeseen circumstances.

The unfortunate answers to these questions lie in the fact that most business owners never consider preparing their businesses for sale before a purchaser asks them to supply the financial statements, management accounts and VAT returns. No sooner are these supplied, than the prospective purchaser asks about the customer mix and debtor analysis. Another challenge all together…

At no financial cost to you at all, you can learn to prepare your business for sale so that at the drop of a hat you are ready to sell for 209% more than you believe it is worth today. An impossibly silly claim? Not at all! Businesses that are properly prepared for sale, well in advance of the event, and then kept prepared through a simple maintenance program, usually over a period of years, always sell for higher values, in quicker, cleaner deals, than if the business had not been prepared properly, or at all.

So why don't we prepare our businesses for sale?

Most sellers simply don't know where to begin. They know they need to present a profit figure, and they know that VAT returns will be used to prove the turnover. They hastily sketch out some cash flow forecasts based on improving “this” and implementing “that”. They are scared that their staff will up and go if they discover the business is for sale. They don't want their suppliers and customers to find out.

Any of this sound familiar to you? Do you fit the bill?

And so you do nothing until the buyer is sitting in the office asking awkward questions. At that point, of course, it becomes a bit of a mess, as the bookkeeper is called in, sworn to secrecy, and has all the pressure transferred to his shoulders. By the next morning even the cleaners and drivers know there is something afoot.

If I can show you how to pre-empt this entire debacle, and add value to your business, would you be interested in “Preparing your business for sale”? Well, of course you would. For no cost at all, I will help you to prepare a complete prospectus on your business, to be easily updated every month in less than an hour. You will learn exactly how to add value to your business so that both you and your buyer benefit from the improvements. You will be able to identify the elements in your business that savvy buyers are after, and show those elements to your best advantage.

You will gain... oh never mind; I promise you that you will get so much value ...without paying me a penny!

Retaining the shareholding and a directorship provides the investor with a stable platform going forward. A dedicated part owner employee, if you want. But not any run of the mill employee; rather one who shares a common goal with the investor – maximize profits to grow the underlying value of the business as a whole.

And so they will become partners in a business, one who understands the intricacies of the industry, based on decades of experience, and another who is able to bring professional systems, cash flow, and door opening contacts in other markets. In addition the business will have a war chest which it will be able to use to make strategic acquisitions from amongst its suppliers, customers or even competitors.

“I will take any reasonable offer.”

“I don't know how to run my wife's business, and I don't have the time.”

“I'm getting divorced, and my wife wants the business.”

“We've had enough, and we're going to emigrate. I need my money by December.”

"My husband has had an accident. He says I must sell his business because it is going out of business. "

Why condemn yourself to this unhappiness?

There is an easy solution, you know. What's more, it is so easy if you are already running your business in a slightly better than basic fashion. By following our techniques, nobody need ever know that your business is being sold, or in fact that you have prepared your business for sale, if this is an issue for you.

Great news for business owners who think their businesses will never be sold: Not only will your business be sold, but you will use the proceeds from that sale to improve your life and leapfrog your dreams to a higher level.

Join me for a few minutes of good advice and solid pointers each week as I show you how you will create a life raft of opportunity in your business, ready to be launched at short notice.

Do not be caught unaware.

Do not be caught investing most of your life’s time in a business to keep the wolves from the door today, and to provide for your future tomorrow, when you have no idea of what a buyer would be looking for in a business today.

Do not be caught flat footed when circumstances such as illness or death dictate that you have to sell at short notice.

Wouldn’t that be sad?

All businesses should be in a constant state of readiness for sale. We live and work in an uncertain environment with new challenges being thrown our way constantly.

Instead of the formal presentation seminars, I have made the entire seminar available in a structured format through a no cost subscription base which will release seminar lessons on a weekly base to all subscribers. This means that if you wish to receive the seminar, you will have to register with your details, and then confirm them so that you can receive the lessons.

For subscribers who sign up now, there will be no charge. Simply follow the link to the Prepare your Business For Sale registration form.

I hope you get the most out of the series which is aimed at business owners who will sell their businesses some day in the future, as profitably as possible. Let me show you how in a series of easy to follow steps.

Cheers
Mark Corke