Selling your business is a lot like selling your house: it
should have "curb appeal" and pass a buyer's
"home inspection" with flying colours. In this article,
we will look at some of the steps that you, as an owner-manager or
officer/director of a mid-sized company, can take to get your
business ready to sell.
At the end of the article, we summarize tips to consider in your
day-to-day operations and when selling becomes likely.
Objectives and Planning: What do you want to do and
when?
Objectives will vary from sale to sale, but they usually include
some combination of business, personal and tax objectives. Business
objectives may include spinning off a line of business or involving
a partner with "deep pockets" to take the company to the
next level. Personal objectives may include freeing up the money in
your business so that you can retire, or to get out of the business
because you no longer enjoy or are capable of running it. Tax
objectives may include
