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Creating a successful business is no easy task. Some business owners work for years and never realize their dream of creating a successful venture. If your existing business is doing great but you have lost your passion for the industry you operate in, selling your company to someone else is a good option. Each year, over 10,000 businesses are sold in the United States.
If you are unsure about how to get through this selling process, working with a business broker is a must. These professionals will work hard to make selling your business an enjoyable and care-free experience. Most people underestimate how hard selling a business can be. Instead of making mistakes that could cost you a lot of money, you need to find an experienced business broker to work with. The following are some things you should consider when attempting to plan an exit strategy after selling your business.
Allow Professionals to Help You Tie Up Loose Ends
As time goes by, a business owner’s finances start to become entangled with the company they run. If you are in the process of selling your business, you need to start the process of untangling your finances. In most cases, business owners will not be able to handle this process on their own. Instead of taking on this job and making mistakes can result in a lot of problems, which is why hiring an accountant to help you is advisable.
An accountant will be able to go through business financial records and statements and figure out the best way to help you severe ties. By hiring professionals to handle this complex task, you can focus on more important matters related to selling your business.
Create a Departure Timeline
Leaving a business you have built from the ground up can be emotionally taxing. Some business owners make the mistake of hanging around for too long after they have sold their company. The best way to avoid this mistake is by creating a firm timeline of your departure. This timeline should feature all of the things you need to do to make a clean break.
An outline that describes in detail how to leave your business can help you take some of the emotion out of this process. While the new owners of your business may offer you a consulting position as a courtesy, you may want to avoid taking them up on this offer. Generally, it is best to take the money you have made from selling your business and invest it in a new venture. Choosing a venture that is completely unrelated to your previous business is probably a good idea. By doing this, you can learn a whole new set of skills and experience a new industry.
Talk With the New Owners
Before a new set of owners takes over your business, you need to figure out what they want regarding your departure. In some cases, a person buying a new business may want the old owner to hang around for a few weeks to help them during this transition. Giving a week or so of your time to the new owners can help you create a great relationship with them. This relationship can pay off in the future if you ever want to come back and work for the company.
Start Creating Your Departure Now
Procrastinating is the worst thing you can do when trying to figure out how to exit a business after selling it. This is why you need to start planning your departure now.
Ashley Lipman is an award-winning writer at Study Clerk who discovered her passion for providing knowledge to readers worldwide on topics closest to her heart—all things digital. Since her first high school award in creative writing, she continues to deliver awesome content through various niches touching the digital sphere.
