As a business owner, and part of the baby boomer generation, you’ve seen your share of ups and downs in the business world.

If you are considering the sale of your business there are a growing number of brokers and mergers and acquisition specialists available to offer professional assistance to help you determine the value of your business and how the market might respond. 
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As baby boomers begin to hit retirement age, many who are business owners are ready to sell. It’s created a market that has many businesses for sale. 

At the same time, concerns about the economy had made it tough to get financing for many potential deals. Seller financing is one option that could be the solution to get many deals done.

Seller financing involves a seller helping to finance the sale of the business by taking back a second note on the business. It differs from a traditional Small Business Administration (SBA) loan because the seller essentially extends credit to the buyer against the purchase price of the business. However, seller financing is misunderstood by many, even though it may be the best way to sell a business during a stagnant economy.
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Selling a business and walking away can be very difficult. But in many cases, there’s a transition (“training” and/or “consulting”) period dependent on the size of the company and the role of the owner. Transitions may be as short as a month or two or as long as a year. In most situations, the buyer wants the seller to remain on board to shorten the learning curve and help with the smooth transfer of key relationships.

In the typical business sale, a transition period of four to eight weeks is included, and sometimes a “telephone consulting period” is added (e.g., 6 months of telephone consulting not to exceed 5 hours per month). Also, the seller may additionally be retained as a consultant at a negotiated rate. In some instances, a long-term employment contract is negotiated and the seller maintains daily involvement for a much longer period of time. READ MORE

As you prepare to put your house on the market, you get the word out to as many people as possible. The “For Sale” sign is placed in the front yard, you invite people into your home during an open house and you put ads in the newspaper and online. You want everyone to know your house is for sale.

However, that’s not the case when selling a business. Place an ad that your business is on the market and people start to wonder. It creates an air of uncertainty that can be detrimental to your bottom line and put the company in jeopardy.

To increase the likelihood of a successful sale of a business at an optimum price, keep it confidential!

What’s likely to happen if people find out the business is up for sale?
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Do thoughts of selling your business ever cross your mind? As a business owner you certainly know that the day will come when you will walk away from your company’s operations. Selling your business will likely be one of the biggest decisions of your business life.

No doubt you have a good idea of what your business is worth. But there are many factors to consider when putting your company on the market. Is now the best time to sell? Should I look for a cash deal or should I consider certain terms? What about confidentiality? 

Working with a professional business intermediary will provide the expertise to help you make those decisions. Consider teaming with a Certified Business Intermediary (CBI), a professional who fully understands what it takes to successfully sell a business. A CBI can bring significant value to the complex process and help you complete a sale that will include the best possible value and some peace of mind. 
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There are more than 15 million family businesses in the United States, ranging from giants like Wrigley and Marriott to the local corner grocery store. Yet, history tells us that less than one-third of family owned companies will make it to a second generation. 

One reason for the disheartening statistic may be that business owners tend to forget about succession planning. It’s often not a priority and it definitely can be an emotional issue. Many owners just can’t imagine the business succeeding if they aren’t involved or they may be too busy with day-to-day operations to take the time to adequately plan for someone else to take the reins when it’s time to step aside. 

But as more and more baby boomers approach retirement age, the time for succession planning is today. Tomorrow may bring a serious illness, disability or even death. Having a well thought out plan is critical to the continuation of a business, particularly for a small, family-run operation.

Plan early.
Developing a succession plan early will help to smooth the transition. You may think the plan won’t be implemented for years, but unexpected factors may move up the timeline. 
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It will likely be the biggest financial deal you’ll ever make, so it’s vitally important to be sure you are properly prepared when selling your business. Taking the proper steps to get your business ready for sale can significantly improve the likelihood of a successful sale. 

For many business owners, the prospect of selling the business after years of pouring every effort into growing the company can be emotional and difficult. That’s a major reason why it pays to structure a plan to prepare for the sale. Remember, it’s crucial to use the same care and patience that is used to grow and sustain a business. 
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As a business owner, and part of the baby boomer generation, you’ve seen your share of ups and downs in the business world. The time is coming to step back and take life in a different direction. You’ve decided it’s time to seriously consider selling your business. Where do you turn? 

Many business owners in similar circumstances look first to their accountant or their business attorney, people they’ve worked with and have developed a relationship with. But the fact of the matter is they aren’t experienced in selling a business, just as you probably would not ask them to sell your home for you (which is much easier). No doubt, you’ll consult with them as you prepare to sell your business. But an initial step should be to enlist the help of a professional business broker or intermediary. 
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A recent survey of members of the International Business Brokers Association (IBBA) found that business intermediaries expect the next few years to be a busy year for buying and selling businesses. Some of those transactions may need creative financing. With a busy time ahead for small business transactions, there are a number of creative financing options to consider. 

1. Seller Financing -
Increasingly, buyers and lenders are looking to the seller for financing as they try to put a transaction together. In such a scenario, the seller will hold a note at an agreed upon interest rate for a specific term or amortization – generally ranging from five to 10 years.
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Any business owner who has sold a business on his of her own will tell you it’s a long, tedious and stressful process. It consumes time and distracts you from the day to day operation of the business. When your focus should be on maintaining or increasing the value of your business, all of your time and energy is directed to the sale process.

That’s where an experienced business broker can pay huge dividends. There are many areas where the business broker expertise pays off:

• Confidentiality
  If you as an owner attempting to sell your own business, that process alone reveals that the business is up for sale. Employees, customers, suppliers and bankers all get nervous and competitors look to make a kill. A business broker will protect the identity of the company and contact only owner approved buyers through a blind profile – a document describing the company without revealing its identity.

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