However it is spelled, the question is the same: what actually happens, and in what order. This page is the practical sequence with the time each stage takes, written for an owner who has not done this before and would rather not learn it during the process.
Get quotes to sell my business
Get the numbers defensible
Three years of financial statements a stranger can follow, tax returns that agree with them, and a written schedule of add backs with a document behind each. Buyers and lenders both work from this file, so preparing it once serves both. Expect this to take weeks rather than days if the books have been informal.
Choose the route and go to market
Yourself on a marketplace, a local broker, an M&A adviser, or a direct approach to someone you already know. Then the business goes to buyers under a non disclosure agreement, and offers come back. This stage takes two to four months in a normal market.
Exclusivity, diligence and closing
One offer is chosen and given exclusivity, which is when your leverage peaks and then falls. Diligence verifies everything and the purchase agreement is drafted in parallel. Two to four months, longer if the file was not ready. Then closing, and often escrow or deferred payments running for a year or more afterwards.
Other questions people ask
How much does it cost to sell?
A commission if you use an intermediary, with a minimum fee that bites on small sales, plus legal and accounting fees. Published US commissions on this site run from 5% to 15%.
How long does it take?
Six to twelve months once you are prepared, with the buyer's financing and diligence the slowest steps.
What is the first thing to do?
Ask your accountant for three years of statements and start documenting the personal costs running through the business. Everything else follows from having a defensible earnings figure.