A month or so after a business buy-sell transaction the buyer said he had found some challenges but was making his way through them. Finding a business to buy is much different than finding a house to buy. There’s no MLS, the seller doesn’t want anybody to know the business is for sale, there’s a lot more information to verify, and comparable sales information is limited.
Similarly, moving into a house is easy, especially compared to taking over a business. The house is clean, it’s been inspected so you know what to fix or upgrade, and it’s really about unpacking and getting settled.
When taking over a business you have to deal with customers, employees, operations, culture, cashflow, and more. Here are three things owners should do to make it smoother for buyers (and increase the ease of selling and the price).
Run it as a business, not a lifestyle. Run it as if you’re not selling but are in it maximize growth and profit. Realize the little things you know how to do in your sleep from 37 years as an owner (as an unconscious competent) aren’t second nature to the buyer. There not second nature to your staff, which is why a business plan, job descriptions, and delegation are so important.
As I’ve written many times before, the buyer is buying your people as much, or more, than they are buying your “company.” Employees are the lifeblood of any business so treat them well, pay them well, let them grow, and trust them.
Financial people will tell you to measure everything. Those numbers are the buyer’s (and the bank’s) insight into your business. The abovementioned buyer bought a good business that didn’t follow normal accounting practices (not even GAAP, just normal). This is a project-based business and work in process was not being recorded on the balance sheet. How do you know how profitable a project was if you don’t track things correctly? This means have a good accounting system and pay attention to it.
I could go on but you get the point. Take the little extra time it takes to do things right, not just run from project to project.
“If the highest aim of a captain were to preserve his ship, he would keep it in port forever.” Thomas Aquinas
“Hobbies of any kind are boring, except to people who have the same hobby.” Dave Barry
