When Should a Business Owner Start Thinking About Selling Their Business?
The best time is when they first start the business. But of course we’re well down the track from all that.
When you first start your business, think about what you might want to do in terms of timing and strategy to get out of the business, what that might be, so that you can set your business up to reach that goal, just as I did with the freight business. That was exactly the plan. It’s more a case of thinking about it and giving yourself time to actually put in place what you need to do.
As an example, you might decide that you want to sell to a strategic buyer. You don’t quite know who that buyer might be, but you have a range of potential buyers. You make sure that you can position your business to be attractive to those companies that actually could see your business as fitting strategically with them. And therefore, have it worth a heck of a lot more than if you were just selling it for a multiple say, for instance, of the bottom line.
If you want to maximise the most for your business, absolutely give yourself at least two to five years, if you can do that. And if you are always running your business, as if you are going to sell it, then if something comes along that causes you to change plans for whatever reason, at least you are in a position where you know that you will be able to get out of it and get something back. Contingency planning is another word for that.
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