Selling South Florida Businesses for Higher Profits

Tip One: Timing Is Everything when Selling South Florida Businesses

If you are looking to get the most money out of selling South Florida businesses, you need to keep timing at the forefront of your mind. When selling real estate, there are three Ls to success (location, location, location). When selling South Florida businesses, there are three Ts: timing, timing, timing.

Here are three things to consider when choosing the most profitable time to sell your business in South Florida.

Wait Until Your Business Shines Like a New Penny

The first step in evaluating the proper time to sell your South Florida business is to make sure it is shining like a new penny before you put it on the market. If it needs a little polishing, get out the dust cloth and do some spring cleaning. There is more than one way to spruce up your business prior to offering it for sale. Here are a few practical things to consider.

• If it is a brick and mortar establishment, do some physical cleaning and updating of the facilities to command a higher price.
• A digital business can be spruced up with a fresh web design or a declutter of an old design.
• The most important spring cleaning happens with your books and financial statements. Make sure all your financial documents are available for viewing and are up to date.

Don’t Wait Until You MUST Sell

The second most important timing decision of selling South Florida businesses is to make sure you don’t rush the process. You will need time to plan and prepare for the sale of your business, especially if you want to create a great first impression. Rushing the process (which is sometimes necessary, but usually unprofitable) can cause you to miss out on great gains from the transaction.

It can take 6-12 months after putting your business up for sale to finalize the transaction when selling South Florida businesses. You should have a well thought out exit strategy with plenty of time planned to wait out the process to completion.

Choose Your Season Wisely When Selling South Florida Businesses

There is a very distinct “tourist” or “snow bird” season in South Florida. And that season is not in the heat of summer. This doesn’t mean you can’t offer a business for sale during the hotter months, but you will likely have greater interest in your business during the cooler fall and winter months. You’d be wise to consider the type of business you are selling and how the seasons affect the amount of traffic and revenue. List your business for sale at the appropriate season.

Tip Two: Make Sure Your Price Is Right

Price is super important when selling a business in any market. If the price is too high, you may not be able to sell it at all. If the price is too low, you may be throwing money out the window. Here are three tips to pricing your business accurately.

Research Similar Businesses to See if Your Business Is Worth Selling

It is important to make sure that your business is comparable with similar businesses in your market. If not, you may not be able to sell your business for top dollar. During your research, you may be able to ascertain simple tweaks to make your business more competitive in the market when selling South Florida businesses.

Take An Objective Look at Your Business’ SDE

SDE is a seller’s discretionary earnings (otherwise known as cash flow). This is the net income of your business before the primary owner’s deductions and benefits.

Calculate the Value of Your Business

According to INC.com, a company is worth one to four times its annual SDE. Knowing this number will help you set a dollar value for offering your business for sale.

Tip Three: Market Your Business to Sell at the Best Price

This is probably the most important step of all. If you never actually “offer” your business to the public, in one fashion or another, you’ll not have a sale. There are basically two ways to sell a business.

One: Sell Your Business Yourself

This is totally possible by finding sites which will advertise your business as available for purchase. Unfortunately, this option usually costs you money in the long run. After weeks or even months of no results, you will likely have to hire a broker who is skilled in finding buyers for businesses. This makes the second option the preferable choice.

Two: Hire a Broker to Market and Sell Your Business for You.

A knowledgeable broker has the expertise and experience to market your business in a way that can bring out the biggest profits. A broker understands your market and can present your business in such a way to highlight the positive and honestly present the negative without harming your profits. In addition, they are expert deal makers who can leverage higher profits by negotiating the best price for you that is also fair and equitable for the buyer.