Loading
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms and Conditions
Canadian Print Scholarships
  • LinkedIn
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • Home
  • Community
    • Donors
    • Schools
    • Students
    • Trustees
  • Scholarships
    • Canadian Printing Industries Scholarship
    • Warren Wilkins Memorial Scholarship
    • Special Scholarships
    • Eligibility
  • News
  • Events
  • Blog
  • Jobs
    • About
    • Job Listings
    • Employers
    • Employer Area
      • Job Dashboard
      • Resume Listings
      • Submit Job
      • Submit Corporate Overview
    • Candidate Area
      • Candidate Dashboard
      • Submit Resume
    • Register
  • Contact
  • Donate
  • Menu Menu
A Check List for Selling a Business

A Check List for Selling a Business

2023-01-19/in Articles/by Editor

Source: Connecting for Results
Author: Morris Selmko (Guest Post)

Selling your business is in many ways similar to selling your house. The first thing you do before selling your house is fix it up – give it a new paint job, repair any damage, improve the curb appeal, etc. Well, if you want to make your business more attractive to buyers and maximize the price on the sale of the business, you need to do the same thing – make some improvements.

The sale of a business first starts with planning, usually months, and even years, in advance of the actual sale.  Every situation is different but a sale, and getting ready for that sale, can take up to five years depending upon the state of the business and the owner’s needs. There are a number of steps in the process and if you are in a hurry, you may not maximize the return. So, here’s where to start:

Think Like a Buyer

You need to put yourself in the place of the buyer and ask yourself what are the risks and “flaws” in the business. What can you do to “fix” them? Buyers will undertake due diligence prior to closing a deal to identify any problems with the business. Home buyers often hire home inspectors to identify potential problems before closing the deal and use major issues to either negotiate a reduced price or walk away from the transaction. You want to fix any problems before the business goes up for sale so the buyer can’t use any negatives as a negotiating tool.

Know Your Earnings

Business valuations are generally based on earnings – the greater the earnings, the higher the value. Companies with a track record of growing earnings are more valuable than companies with volatile earnings or losses. Buyers will look at the earnings for the last three to five years. Can you show a history of growth? If not, why not and what can you do to improve the pattern of earnings?

Evaluate for Strengths and Weaknesses

What are the risk factors in your specific business – industry conditions, growth opportunities, operational issues, customer concerns, etc. Can you improve productivity? Does the business rely on a few customers? Can you expand the customer base? Be prepared to have the answers.

Identify your Key Players

Selling a business isn’t just about bricks and mortar, it’s also about the people. How strong is your management team? Are you the key driver of the business or do your managers make significant contributions to the company’s success? Buyers generally want depth in the management ranks. Reliance on an owner who just won the jackpot does not lead to a lot of certainty. There needs to be a solid foundation for future success in order for a potential buyer to make the investment.

Be Objective

You need to do an impartial evaluation of your business. As an owner, you are proud of what you have built and often have a personal and emotional attachment to your company. You may not be able to “see the forest for the trees”. You may want to consider hiring an independent advisor to assist you. Often, the advisor can help you make improvements that more than pay for themselves in an increased selling price.

To use the house sale analogy, you may hire painters, landscapers, carpenters, plumbers, or electricians to fix the house. In addition, when you present your home for sale, you may hire a stager to help present the home in the best possible light. All so that you maximize the selling price of the house.

An advisor can do the same things to help you fix your business and maximize the selling price by helping to develop a plan in advance of the sale including:

  • Identify and implement productivity improvements
  • Help you grow sales
  • Develop an independent SWOT and help with opportunities and address threats
  • Strategic evaluation of your organization – structure and personnel

If you need a professional opinion, contact us. Happy selling!

By Morris Slemko

 

The post A Check List for Selling a Business first appeared on Connecting for Results.

Visit Website

“The mission of Canadian Print Scholarships is to attract the brightest and best students available to the graphic communications industry by providing financial assistance to enroll and continue in a post-secondary management or technical program at an approved institution.”

#print #printingindustry #packaging #signage #scholarships

Tags: Printing Industry
Share this entry
  • Share on Facebook
  • Share on Twitter
  • Share on LinkedIn
  • Share by Mail
  • Link to Instagram
You might also like
Reading printed materials improves literacy and engagement on multiple levels: New reportReading printed materials improves literacy and engagement on multiple levels: New report
The Importance of Accessibility for Print ProjectsThe Importance of Accessibility for Print Projects
Why Print Marketing Still Has A Role To Play In Your BusinessWhy Print Marketing Still Has A Role To Play In Your Business
4 lessons the pandemic has taught us about online learning4 lessons the pandemic has taught us about online learning
Dealing with InflationDealing with Inflation
Is a recession on the horizon?Is a recession on the horizon?

Get Our Newsletter!

"*" indicates required fields

Email*
This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Address

Canadian Printing Industries Scholarship Trust Fund
630 – 2 Campbell Drive
Uxbridge, ON L9P 0A3

Get our Newsletter!

"*" indicates required fields

Email*
This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Mission

“The mission of Canadian Print Scholarships is to attract the brightest and best students available to the graphic communications industry by providing financial assistance to enroll and continue in a post-secondary management or technical program at an approved institution.”

© Copyright · Canadian Printing Industries Scholarship Trust Fund - Enfold Theme by Kriesi
  • LinkedIn
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
Trustee Focus: Sean MurraySean MurrayPrinting and Graphics Industries Association of AlbertaAssociation Focus: Printing and Graphics Industries Association of Alberta
Scroll to top

This site uses cookies. By continuing to browse the site, you are agreeing to our use of cookies.

OKLearn more

Cookie and Privacy Settings



How we use cookies

We may request cookies to be set on your device. We use cookies to let us know when you visit our websites, how you interact with us, to enrich your user experience, and to customize your relationship with our website.

Click on the different category headings to find out more. You can also change some of your preferences. Note that blocking some types of cookies may impact your experience on our websites and the services we are able to offer.

Essential Website Cookies

These cookies are strictly necessary to provide you with services available through our website and to use some of its features.

Because these cookies are strictly necessary to deliver the website, refusing them will have impact how our site functions. You always can block or delete cookies by changing your browser settings and force blocking all cookies on this website. But this will always prompt you to accept/refuse cookies when revisiting our site.

We fully respect if you want to refuse cookies but to avoid asking you again and again kindly allow us to store a cookie for that. You are free to opt out any time or opt in for other cookies to get a better experience. If you refuse cookies we will remove all set cookies in our domain.

We provide you with a list of stored cookies on your computer in our domain so you can check what we stored. Due to security reasons we are not able to show or modify cookies from other domains. You can check these in your browser security settings.

Other external services

We also use different external services like Google Webfonts, Google Maps, and external Video providers. Since these providers may collect personal data like your IP address we allow you to block them here. Please be aware that this might heavily reduce the functionality and appearance of our site. Changes will take effect once you reload the page.

Google Webfont Settings:

Google Map Settings:

Google reCaptcha Settings:

Vimeo and Youtube video embeds:

Privacy Policy

You can read about our cookies and privacy settings in detail on our Privacy Policy Page.

Privacy Policy
Accept settingsHide notification only