Over the years, I have helped many business owners and
executives to sell their company. In each case, I have tried to
educate my clients on the do's and don'ts that, when
followed, significantly increase the likelihood of securing a good
deal, thereby allowing my clients to realize their financial and
personal goals. I refer to these guidelines as "Howard's
Golden Rules".
1. Make the Company an Attractive Acquisition Target
Before soliciting prospective buyers, the seller should
undertake initiatives to make their company an attractive
acquisition target. Buyers are wary of "transition risk",
being the risk that major customers and key employees will leave
the business shortly after it has been acquired. Therefore, the
seller needs to ensure that they have a strong and committed
management team in place (beyond the business owner). Ideally,
owners should make themselves redundant to the business.
Over-reliance on the business owner makes it difficult to sell
