SCORE Small Business Blog

If we look at history, true wealth in this country has been created by two sources.The first is buying and selling real estate.The second is being a business owner.It’s not necessarily when you own the business, but when you sell it.The number one question you need to ask yourself is, “if I don’t work, does my income stop?”If you answered yes, you may want to take the steps to create something you can sell at some point.There is a universal truth, at some point you will leave your business.If you have a business and it’s time to sell, what should you do first?

You should define your objectives.Recently at a meeting of WPO, 6 of 7 women business owners whom had sold their business were disappointed.Mostly because they didn’t have any idea what to expect during and mainly afterwards. Some of the objectives include;

• When is my departure date & what will I do after I sell my business;
• What is my business worth, will I achieve financial security with that number, is the number real;
• If I have a sole proprietorship, a C Corp or an LLC is an S Corp. status better;
• Do I have a partner, are our objectives the same, do we have a business will;
• Do you want to leave your business to a child, a key employee or sell to a third party

Next time; “what’s my business worth?”

-Anne Groth, Guest Blogger
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