When would sell your business?

[Elsoft]

I see a lot of owners who try to sell their business saying they dont have time or they are trying new things so they want to get ride of this.If the business is really doing well,why would someone want to sell.Sometimes the reasons given are even more silly.So,I thought I would better get an answer from the community here - When would you consider selling your business?

[DangerousCurves]

I see the same things and never understood why someone would list an exit reason with such a negative tone.. because you're right, if the business was making a killing as they always claim in their "profit & cash flow" reports.. they wouldn't be selling it because they don't have time for it, or want to try something else.. i'd be real skeptical of a companies income reports if they didn't have time to devote to a successful business.. The ones i see that seem less suspicious are health reasons, or retiring.. but still, small businesses often get sold because they're not fulfilling the owners expectations in some way or another.. and unless they've got a solid brand with a loyal following, wouldn't it be just as easy to start a new company and put that purchase price into marketing and advertising instead of purchasing an existing business that may not be all they claim it is? Just my two cents.. which may be over valued...lol

[Elsoft]

Sale of a share does make a sense when some one is finding it difficult to manage the growth.

I would sell mine when it reach peak in his growth, or when I do not know how to handle with his growth any more.

Sometimes it is best to sell your business to someone who has $$ to support it. Now, i did not told that you should sell it whole. I would never sold it 100%, I would keep 10-30% of shares, and make 10-30% of income of that business

[Emma Ames]

I, for one, would highly consider selling my business (if I had one of my own) if it were robbing me of my time with my family and of the things that I love doing. I mean, I'm sure it didn't take overnight for my "business" to reach its peak and that must have cost me a lot already with my family and if it comes to it, I'd choose my family over money. But then again, there are other options to consider before actually selling out your hard-earned business.

Outsourcing is more than effective if you have found the right support of your business needs. You'd have more time on your hands to simply enjoy life without having to give up something you just as equally, if not more, love doing -- business.

Cheers!

[veikoh]

Obviously you have need for the cash for other ideas that's the main reason for selling. I haven't ever heard anyone who sells the profitable business giving a good ROI and put's the money to stay in bank account.

[jennyonbay]

I would say people will never sell a business when it gives profit. Even if they want to sell it they would invest the money in to a new one...

[SIA]

There are many reasons, and many times someone can, should, or does sell a business they claim to be profitable. Here are a few of the most common reasons:

#1 They are lying. The business is not profitable and if it was they would still be doing it or hiring someone else to do it and take in a percentile of their royalties.

#2 They got in over their head, are going out of their mind, and just want to get out. A sour taste in someone's mouth is a good reason to walk away from a business for many and get it out of their way.

#3 A new project has come along (my case) and they know they cannot dedicate themselves to both projects and are workaholics who know they wouldn't be able to leave the first business alone.l

#4 Company has flat-lined. I can't tel you how many times someone thought they had a business idea that would go national or international, only to have it eeking out an existence for them and figure it would just be better to hand over to someone else.

#5 They are Lying. Yes, it was number 1, but it bears repeating as at least 40% of the businesses I have seen that claim to be profitable aren't once you dig beneath the surface.

[barbaragabogrecan]

If we get more profit and income in other business comparison to current business then we think about sell our business. I think this is the only reason behind it.

[mitko-invest]

veikoh tell the answer :


Obviously you have need for the cash for other ideas that's the main reason for selling.

[daveb1]

Some people's only business is starting them and then selling mildly profitable potential businesses. Also when you sell a profitable business you are capturing future value/money without the work. I.E. you get paid now for something that may or may not happen in the future. It's a way to reduce risk, take a break from work etc.

-There are lots and lots of unique reasons as well. I.E. Amazon affiliates are no longer welcome in California due to tax laws. So someone who owns a profitable Amazon business in California now finds his website useless despite it being hugely profitable to someone who can legally cash out the money.

There are many many random examples like this. One the best ways I have ever seen to verify a businesses profitability is to look at the owners claimed tax returns.

If you check out a site like Flippa you can find all types of profitable businesses for sale for every type of reason imaginable.

As an aside to this topic is there any other good business buying/selling sites like Flippa that anyone can point me to?

[Gary Barzel]

People can sell their business even if it's profitable for a million different reasons. It could be that it's just too difficult to manage, or the person lives far away and the commute is just getting too long. Other reasons could be another business opportunity rose that has more potential than the current one, or a person has lost interest in that particular business. Whatever the reason may be, if you are looking to buy an existing business be sure to do a thorough research on how the business is doing, on the history of it, as well as how that market is doing.