Step 1: Prepare for Your Exit

• Exit Planning for Business Owners: An Overview

  An introduction to the main issues business owners will need to consider when planning their exit.

Introduction to Exit Planning

• Steps to Selling Your Business

  If you're just getting started thinking about selling your business, this guide will provide an overview of the process.

• Your Exit Planning Timeline: A Roadmap to Selling Your Business

  Exit timeline for selling your business - highlighting steps to take five years before listing a small business for sale.

• What is Business Succession Planning?

  A comprehensive exit plan includes some succession planning to ensure a smooth transition of leadership.

• Effective Exit Strategies for Family Businesses

  Exit strategies for family businesses have unique considerations. Explore options for yourself, your business, and your family to ensure a smooth transition.

• How to Create a Business Exit Strategy and Avoid Costly Mistakes

  If you're thinking about selling your business, it's important to have a clear and well-thought-out plan. The outcome of your sale is directly influenced by your intentions for selling.

• How an Exit Mindset Can Transform Your Business for When You Are Ready to Sell

  Learn how adopting an exit mindset can help you build a more valuable, transferable business – even if you have no immediate plans to sell.

• Transferable Value When Selling Your Business

  Learn how to assess and increase your small business's transferable value. Discover strategies to reduce owner dependence and build systems that attract buyers.

• Exploring Acquihire as an Exit Strategy

  When your employees are your greatest asset, consider an acquihire exit strategy to sell your business.

• Business Growth vs. Exit Planning: Two Sides of the Same Coin

  Maximize the value of your business, consider how your growth strategies can overlap with your exit plan to ensure a successful business transfer.

• Differences in Business Growth and Exit Planning: The Nuances That Add Leverage

  While growth and exit planning are part of the same journey, there are subtle differences. Recognizing the nuances will help to maximize value when it's time to exit.

Engaging a Business Broker

• What Will a Business Broker Do for You?

  Most business sellers will use a broker to manage the process. Here's what to expect from a business broker.

• Business Broker Licenses, Registrations, and Certifications: What Business Owners Need to Know

  Learn about the licenses, registrations, and certifications business brokers need to best guide you through the process of buying or selling a business.

• How Much Will a Business Broker Charge?

  Most business owners will hire a broker to help them sell their business. It's usually the right move, but you will pay for it. At least ten percent.

• How to Sell a Business Without a Broker

  Planning on selling your business without a broker? Here's what to consider, and what you will need to manage if you go it alone.

• Understanding Key Terms in Business Broker Contracts

  When engaging a business broker to help you sell your business, understanding the key terms in your contract is essential.

• Red Flags When Working with a Business Broker

  When it comes to hiring a business broker to help you sell your business, watch out for any potential red flags that may indicate the importance of partnering with a skilled and knowledgeable professional.

• Letter to a Business Owner: Addressing Concerns about Hiring a Business Broker

  A real-life example of a conversation I've had with some business owners regarding their anxieties over signing the engagement agreement.

• Using a Broker to Sell Your Business to a Friend or Family

  Many business owners already know a prospective buyer, but don't know how to begin the process. A business broker plays an important role in making the deal happen - saving the owner both time and money.

  More Articles on Using a Business Broker »

Prepare for the Sale

• Getting Ready to Sell Your Business

  The first steps you'll need to do to get your business ready to sell.

• How Much Will It Cost to Sell Your Business?

  It's reasonable to assume selling expenses to be about 15% of the sale price. Here's why.

• Documents and Information Required for Selling a Business

  A list of documents and disclosure tips needed at various stages of the selling process.

• The Risks of Under-Reporting Business Income: Short-Term Savings vs. Long-Term Value

  Understand how under-reporting business income impacts your business value, sale price, and buyer financing options.

• Internal Business Audit: Preparing Your Business for Sale

  Learn how to conduct a thorough internal business audit as part of your exit planning strategy. Complete checklist and guide to help sellers prepare to sell business.

• Why Liquidity and Solvency Matter When Selling Your Business

  Learn why liquidity and solvency are important when selling your business, what buyers look for, and how to strengthen your financial position before listing.

• Reducing Owner Dependency: Key to Increasing Your Business’s Value and Marketability

  Learn how reducing owner dependency can significantly increase the value and marketability of your business. Essential exit planning tips for small business owners.

• Retaining Key Employees Is Critical to Selling Your Business

  From a seller's perspective, key employees benefit your business, but they can also hijack your exit strategy. When critical roles and proprietary business knowledge are concentrated in a few individuals, this poses a business risk to potential buyers.

• Selling a Business Checklist to Ensure a Smooth Sale

  Learn how to prepare your business for sale, the documents you need, how to value it, and how to transition. Discover how a broker can make the process smooth.

• How to Make Your Business More Marketable

  How to think like a buyer and make your business stand out.

Different Types of Business Sales

• How To Sell Your Business to a Competitor

  The BizBuySell guide on how to sell your business to a competitor. Best practices on how to approach a competitor about acquiring your business.

• How To Sell a Sole Proprietorship: A Guide to Exiting Your Business

  Strategies for selling your sole proprietorship: transferring ownership, selling assets, and the steps to maximize your business’s value.

• How to Sell a Partnership: Strategies and Steps for a Smooth Transition

  Learn how to sell a partnership in this guide from BizBuySell. Tips and strategies for a smooth transaction.

• How to Sell an LLC: Tips and Best Practices

  Our guide to selling an LLC covers everything from valuation and determining an asking price to marketing the business for sale and closing the deal.

• How to Sell a Business with Multiple Locations

  Learn how to successfully sell your multi-location business or franchise with our guide, covering valuation, finding the right buyer, and marketing the business for sale.

• How To Sell a Family Business

  Selling a family business requires special considerations. Explore key strategies to maximize profits, ensure a smooth transition, and make informed decisions.

• How To Sell a Seasonal Business

  Selling a business that operates seasonally involves unique factors to consider. Discover essential tactics for optimizing earnings, facilitating a seamless handover, and ensuring a smooth sales process.

• Can You Sell Part of (or Stake In) Your Business?

  Considering divestiture? Learn its benefits for a focused approach, reducing risk, and better retirement planning.

• How to Sell a Book of Business

  Selling your book of business is a multi-step process—from valuation and exit planning to marketing, negotiating and closing the deal. Discover the unique considerations when selling your book of business.

• How To Value and Sell a Business that Uses Contractors

  Understand the intricacies of selling a business that uses contract labor, and learn how to market and maximize its appeal to potential buyers.

Ownership Transition Methods

• Should You Sell Your Business or Franchise It?

  Discover whether selling your business or franchising it is the right move. Compare the benefits and challenges of business exit versus franchise expansion.

• Mergers vs. Acquisitions: Viable Options for Expanding or Exiting Your Business

  Considering an exit strategy for your business or looking to grow your established business? Explore the pros and cons of mergers and acquisitions as viable options for expanding or exiting your business.

• Management Buyout: How They Work and Their Role in Succession Plans

  A management buyout can help small business owners and family-owned enterprises ensure a smooth transition and secure the legacy of their business. This article explains what they are and how they work as part of an exit strategy.

• Buy-Sell Agreements: Safeguarding a Transition in Ownership

  Learn how Buy-Sell Agreements can safeguard your business and shareholders' interests in times of change or crisis. Explore key provisions, benefits, and insights to ensure your business is protected and prepared for any ownership transition.

More Exit Planning Tips

• Selling Your Business "By Owner"

  You can sell your business on your own without a broker, but it's not for everyone.

• How To Manage Emotions When Selling a Business

  Selling a business is a complex process, filled with emotion. Preparing a thoughtful and thorough exit strategy can help ensure a successful sale.

• Selling Your Business Is All About Timing

  How to determine if it's the right or wrong time to sell your business.

• When To Sell Your Business

  Every business owner will exit at some point. For some, it’s a planned retirement, while others may be pressured to sell by personal or financial issues.

• When to Close Your Business

  Deciding when to close your business is complicated and for many owners, the day comes when knowing when to quit is as important as knowing when to persevere.

• Selling a Business During a Divorce

  Selling a business during a divorce requires special considerations—from valuation approaches to state laws and requirements.

• Strategies for Selling a Business After Owner's Death

  Selling a business after the owner's death is unexpected and stressful. Learn the steps to take to sort out legal issues, financial questions, and succession planning.

• How to Retire as a Business Owner

  Retirement planning is essential for small business owners, but it can be overwhelming. In this article, we provide tips and strategies to help you retire successfully.

• When and How Should Employees Be Told About a Business Sale?

  After deciding to sell a business, business owners need to consider when and how to tell employees. Explore the many options you can take.

• How and When to Tell Customers You’re Selling the Business

  Discover strategies and best practices for sharing with your key customers and clients that you are selling the business. When and how to maintain confidentiality in a business.

• 15 Critical Mistakes to Avoid When Selling Your Business

  Learn how to avoid common mistakes when preparing to sell your business to build value and streamline the process.

• How to Run Your Business When It’s for Sale

  Learn how to balance the demands of running a business during the process of selling it. Discover how to communicate with employees and customers while maintaining operations and maximizing profit to ensure a successful sale.

• Managing Inventory When Selling Your Business

  Discover how to properly manage inventory when selling your business. Uncover best practices for inventory counts, valuation, and avoiding common closing issues.

• Do You Need a CPA to Sell Your Business? Understanding the Role

  Considering selling your business? Learn about the role of a CPA in valuation and the sale process and how their guidance can impact your success.

• Business Sale Regulatory Compliance When Selling a Business

  While selling your business, complying with regulatory standards is key. This ensures a legally sound arrangement and makes your business more appealing to potential buyers.

• Key Business Liabilities to Address When Selling a Business

  Key liabilities to consider when selling a business: tax, employee, environmental. Learn to manage and mitigate these issues for a smooth business sale.

• Supplier Concentration When Selling a Business

  Learn how supplier concentration can impact your business sale and discover strategies to mitigate risks.