Selling your small business is a complicated and stressful endeavour. We have found that the transaction process is easier and more likely to succeed if business owners properly prepare for the sale in advance.

Most people don’t realize that selling a small business is completely different from selling almost anything else. First, some of the value of a business lies in something called goodwill, which cannot be seen or measured. Second, you cannot look up the list price of a business or use any other objective means to get a price. The value of a business depends on a number of things and is actually very subjective.

Complicating matters, business sales are usually confidential, making it very difficult to market them. They are also risky for buyers who are investing large amounts of money. That risk has to be addressed in the terms of the transaction.

It is no surprise, then, that selling your small business is not that easy. In fact, experts say that only about one quarter of businesses put on the market actually do sell.

When owners plan the sale of their businesses ahead of time, they are more likely to see success. Whether you are planning to put your business on the market in weeks, months, or years, we recommend doing the following before you consider selling your small business:

1. Talk to Your Family
2. Clean Up Your Business
3. Small Business Valuation
4. Financial Preparation
5. Talk to Your Business Lawyer
6. Make the Important Decisions
7. Business Brokers in Calgary
8. The Due Diligence Process
9. The Business Sale Agreement
10. Selling A Business FAQs