Extra Tip – Be Totally Honest in Business

If you want to get the best possible price for your business there is no doubt that you must be completely honest.

Not only honest with the Buyer, or your Business Broker, but you have to be honest with yourself.
Before placing a business on the market you need to be brutally honest with yourself, and acknowledge what the business is really worth in the market today. A business is not worth what you think its worth, or what you may need to pay out all debts, – it’s worth what the market will pay. Be honest and realistic with yourself, you will save a lot of time and disappointment by being realistic.

Misleading, not disclosing information, keeping something secret – these tactics don’t work. In fact this makes the situation worse.

It is tempting to keep some things secret from buyers but it’s useless, as they will probably find out all your secrets anyway.

It is a standard part of any business transaction these days that the Buyer will conduct some kind of Due Diligence to verify not only the accounts, but also all other aspects of the business. In this process, the Buyer will be able to really get to know the business and all of the details and workings of the business. So it’s pointless to “cover-up”, all it does is postpone the inevitable.

There are no “wood ducks” out there anymore. You will not get lucky and find some sucker who will want your business – it just does not happen.

What does work is following the simple steps outlined in this series of tips. There are no shortcuts – but planning ahead will make selling the business much easier, and much quicker.

Being honest with yourself about the worth of the business, and being honest and open with the buyers, is the only way you can achieve an outcome that will be wholly satisfactory for you, and for the buyer.