A small business sale can be run by the owner, and often should be. This is the sequence when there is no adviser: what to prepare, where to list, how to screen buyers so you are not showing your accounts to competitors, and where to spend the money you saved on the commission.
Get quotes to sell my business
Prepare the file first
Three years of profit and loss statements, a balance sheet, tax returns, a lease copy, an equipment list and a written add back schedule. Put them in one folder before you list. Buyers who ask for numbers and wait two weeks assume the worst, and the seller who answers the same day looks like a business worth buying.
Price it from evidence, not hope
Work out seller's discretionary earnings, then look at what similar businesses in your trade have actually sold for rather than what they are listed at. Asking prices are wishes. If you cannot find evidence, that is itself information: pricing high and reducing publicly is worse than starting close and holding.
Screen before you disclose
Take enquiries through a listing site or an email address created for the purpose. Require a signed non disclosure agreement and some evidence of funds before releasing the name and the detailed figures. Most enquiries are not buyers, and the screening step is what protects your staff and customers from finding out.
Spend on the paperwork
Put a few thousand dollars into a lawyer who does business sales and an accountant who can advise on the structure. The purchase agreement, the allocation of the price across the assets and the handling of any deferred payment are where a small sale is won or lost, and templates from the internet do not carry your circumstances.
Other questions people ask
Where do I list a small business?
General marketplaces reach the widest pool of individual buyers; trade specific forums and associations reach the buyers who understand what you do. Listing on both is normal and costs little.
Should I tell buyers why I am selling?
Yes, honestly and early. Retirement, relocation and wanting to do something else are all fine. Evasiveness about the reason is the fastest way to make a buyer imagine something worse than the truth.
How do I check a buyer can pay?
Ask for a proof of funds letter or a lender pre approval before releasing detailed information. It filters out most of the traffic and offends no genuine buyer.