So you’re finally ready to sell and move on to your next chapter. But do you know which steps, strategies, tools and tactics you can implement now to increase the value of your business? This will help you tremendously when it comes time to sell and you need to move on to other options.
Since the need to sell your company might arise relatively quickly, it’s well worth putting in the steps to increase your business’s value now while you are just beginning to think about selling your business.
There are several different strategies that can enhance the overall business value and showcase your numbers most appropriately. Having a profitable business alone is not enough to entice a prospective buyer. In fact, as any website broker can tell you, established businesses can often make missteps and mistakes in the process of listing their online company for sale.
Simply having a decent source of traffic and ongoing revenue in and of itself is not enough to convince a prospective buyer to decide to work with you and purchase your company. The more work you’ve done on the front end to ensure that you’ve considered all possible options, the easier it will be to sell your business when the time comes. What follows are nine of the most effective strategies that all can be used when you are thinking about deciding whether or not your company is ready to be bought and is truly attractive for a buyer.
Plenty of businesses that go on the market for an online sale are attractive but not ready. This typically means that they would not survive an effective transition and ownership because all of the work is reliant on you as an individual. Other businesses might be ready for a sale but simply aren’t attractive. Attractive businesses that appeal to online buyers today have been built in such a way that looks low risk and simple to operate or have a strategic advantage in the market. Attractiveness and readiness are two of the key aspects in which value can be created.
Consider evaluating your business based on these nine following steps to decide whether or not there is work to be done in enhancing the attractiveness and readiness of your company. These valuable factors include:
- Predictable processes.
- Independence of the owner.
- A solid brand.
- Competent and experienced management.
- Sources of existing revenue and ongoing methods to continue them, such as service contracts, subscriptions, or other agreements.
- Evaluated and clean books.
- A solid growth trajectory.
- Diversity in customers.
- Unique and strategic value.
It’s all too easy for an entrepreneurial owner to be excited about the profitability and revenue driving of the company while overlooking the importance of other ways to build value. However, the leg work you put in to building value now can have significant impacts on your ability to sell your company when the time comes. Consider consulting with our experienced and knowledgeable business brokers to discover what is right for you and your business.