Buyer : Business owners and entrepreneurs sell businesses all the time for various reasons. Regardless of what yours are, you must find the right buyer. This may be so that you know you are leaving yours in great hands or so that your employees are taken care of when you leave. If you have never sold a business, you may wonder how you can determine if a buyer is the right one. In this article, we will go through a few things that can give you a better idea of whether they are the right person or entity to take over your business.
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Look at Their Experience
Many owners want to see their businesses thrive after selling them. One way to ensure this is finding a buyer with a proven track record in their industry or niche. A good place to start is online. Serious buyers typically have a lot of information posted about them online. A few simple searches should reveal the businesses and industries they have been involved with in the past. As you research them, also consider how successful the businesses are that they have been involved with in the past.
Ask How They Will Treat the Employees
It is common for buyers to downsize the workforce when they acquire a business. While they may do this for different reasons, the result is always that some of your current employees will end up without a job. Business owners who care about their employees should ensure the buyer plans on taking care of the employees.
An obvious option is keeping existing employees in their current positions or promoting them and hiring new people to fill the gaps left behind. The second is providing generous severance packages. An employee might have been with a company for a long time and might not know what to do if they are let go. A severance package gives them something to land on while they get back on their feet.
The best outcome for everyone is for a company to be acquired by a family office like Parabellum Investments. The types of investors who are only interested in multi-million-dollar businesses want continuity to ensure a return on their investment. So they are more likely to want to retain current employees or at least give them a great exit.
Check Their Personality
It is not a strict requirement that you and the buyer get along. But it is always good to find one you have good chemistry with. There are two main reasons for this. First, you will spend a lot of time with them during the sale process. If they have a good personality and great chemistry with you, they might have the same with the people in charge of the business.
Second, you want to feel that oyster people will be comfortable working with them. If this is not the case, the business is less likely to succeed. Many business owners do not want to sell only to see the business collapse in a short period. So choosing a buyer with a great personality is crucial.
Selling a business is a complicated and lengthy affair. While there is a lot to consider that goes into the process. It is a good idea to start with the basics discussed above before moving on to more serious matters like finances and due diligence.