Selling Your Business? Here's a Checklist (Part 1).

In my M&A Law Practice, I work with clients who are selling a business all the time.  This can be an exciting and stressful time for business owners - and often times they become overwhelmed by the process.  In addition to the legal advice and services I provide, I always try to help them the other aspects of this process.  Below I have created a simple checklist of the things I usually share with business owners to help them wrap their mind around the process of selling a business.

Some Practical Considerations

1. Make sure you think through the reasons you are selling a business.  This may sound obvious, but there are lots of implications to selling a business.  Are you tired of the business?  Do you want to retire?  Do you want to remain involved with the business, but just need/want the capital from the sale?  All of these sorts of things should be considered when working with your M&A attorney and other advisers in determining the terms of the sale of the business. 
2. Is this a "family business" in which your children or other family members have an interest or expectation of long term involvement?  Sometimes people sell off a closely held business without considering the options of keeping the business in the family for future generations.  While this might not be a possibility or option for some, it is something I always recommend people give some thought to.  There are ways to step away from the a business, generate passive income, and still hand it over to family.
3. Is finding the right buyer important to you?  A business owner who has spent years building a business might often be reluctant to sell the business for fear of a potential buyer not maintaining the business in the vision of its founder.  Some business owners don't care about this - but if you do - finding the right buyer for your business becomes very important.
4. Determine what you want to get out of the sale of your business before you begin negotiating terms.  Don't let a buyer dictate the terms when you sell a business. Before you begin the process, put a great deal of thought into what you want or need to get out of the sale. Use that as the primary driver as you negotiate terms.  For people selling a business out of desperation, this might not help things all that much - but still - it is important to remember why you are selling your business as you work through the details.

Check back soon for  a checklist of some legal stuff you should add to your checklist when selling a business.