Business ownership requires a person with an abundance of energy. If you no longer feel a challenge, nor excitement, then you might want to consider selling your business.
In a highly competitive business world like today’s, a company can rapidly deteriorate without the dedication from its owner: the necessary amount is no longer invested, it loses competitive strength, and talented employees notice a lack of drive within the company and look for new work. It creates a vicious cycle that ends with the life, closure or bad sale of what were once magnificent organizations.
This situation is very common; the business owner does not want anyone to know that he is willing to sell, which means he cannot completely explore the possibilities.
It is also common that a business owner sees his competitors as the best candidates, but the idea of them knowing that he is selling makes him dizzy. He doesn’t know the techniques that exist in order to correctly manage confidentiality and he doesn’t know where to find other buyers. As he doesn’t see a solution, the businessman gradually lets time pass by and it becomes increasingly difficult to sell.
The best buyer is not the one that´s most evident or closest to you. The best counterparty to your company could be, a company in another sector, which is akin to yours and located on the other side of the World.
Within the competitive environment companies feel forced to have their eyes, focused on adjacent sectors and on new products and services that come from sectors or markets that were not competitors in the past.
Confidentiality should not be a problem in order to prevent confidentiality leaks, professional advisors use a virtual data-room. It´s a secure software that only allows potential buyers to access the information after being granted access and a password, and where we can block them from printing and downloading any information. It´s very useful since the virtual data room allows us to control how many times and how often potential buyers visit it, what information they look at and how long they stay connected. It allows us to gauge their interest.
If daily challenges do not energize you and you are looking elsewhere for challenges, then you are ready for an ownership transfer. Take the lead, make it happen, before your company deteriorates.
This article was written by Enrique Quemada, Chairman of ONEtoONE Corporate Finance Group
