You didn’t think it would ever happen, but the day may have finally arrived to put your business up for sale.
(Special to www.task.fm) Bristol, Tennessee
You’ve agonized over it, fretted whether or not you should give it up. You have talked to family and friends and everyone has offered an opinion about the long term viability of the business, or your long term ability to run the business, or the fact that the business is pushing you beyond where you think you as a person should go.
You probably started the business, and have nursed it along through multiple changes—the normal evolution of a business rarely follows a straight line from start up to sale prospect. It’s been sick, it’s been hurt, it’s lost some key people but you persevered and nurtured it back to its strong and healthy self.
But there are some key signs that you need to recognize, and realize that seeing these five indicators should represent a wake-up call—the call telling you it may be time to remove yourself from the business.
A) You’ve lost day to day interest in the operation of the business. A loss of interest in your business is a key indicator that you better get out, now. Experts will share with us that you may lose a day’s interest or need a day’s vacation. Our contention is that if you lose interest in the business, it’s an indication something is wrong.
A business is like your child. Do you ever lose interest in your children? Most parents will say, “Never!”
Even if you are physically and mentally exhausted at the end of the day, you still love and nurture your children, right? It’s the same with your business. A business owner recognizes that not one
person, not a spouse or significant other, not a child, not even a valued employee—respects and loves the business the way you do. When that feeling starts to change, for whatever reason, it’s time to consider what your next steps should be.
B) You recognize that someone else could probably do a better job with the business than you can. This is a painful realization for business owners. Business owners always want to think that no one can run their business better than they can. And yet, if they step back from the limelight, they’ll often discover that advisors and consultants bring new ideas and better constructed workarounds to challenges and issues than they, themselves, have offered. It’s even more frustrating when those advisors bring a way to demonstrate additional profit or income streams that the owner has not considered. When others can demonstrate ways to run the business in a more profitable manner than you can, it’s time to either learn more about your business than you know, or consider a sale of the business.
C) You realize that the business has been superseded by competitors. There is little that can be said for that “sinking feeling” a business owner feels when he or she sees a competitor executing upon a plan or a marketing slogan which he or she once tried, but was unsuccessful.
“The competition is eating your lunch!” is a phrase you never want to hear.
When this type of situation occurs several times, it may be time to consider moving on. Let’s face it, being one-upped by a competitor once doesn’t mean that you are losing your interest in the business—but it does serve as a wake-up call by your own alarm clock telling you that the time has passed for you to get busy and promote what you have going.
D) It is becoming more and more difficult for you to get “excited” about key business opportunities and challenges faced. Remember when you started the business? What now seem to be small challenges were the biggest obstacles you faced in the operation of the business.
Every challenge was a huge challenge, because the learning curve you experienced was immense. You were engaged in the business by the results you attained. And the P&L showed it, didn’t it?
Every successful Profit and Loss Statement demonstrated good to excellent results in at least one new area. We sometimes become jaded when we consider those issues that confront us now as business owners. We simply find that the challenges don’t excite us anymore. Large orders, or winning bids or contracts, or breakthrough results attained against infinitesimal odds against us simply don’t excite you. My friend, it is time to consider what your next great opportunity might be, and let the business grow in the minds and actions of a new owner.
E) You’re missing those key little elements that make up the difference between good and great operations. Details have been said to make all the difference in the operation of any business. It’s true. A good business owner maintains his or her own set of “mental metrics” against which he or she measures the short and long term success factors of the business. But what happens when the owner no longer looks for those significant signs? Only you as the owner know the specifics you are looking for. What are they?
When you cease to use that set of mental metrics to measure performance and viability, it’s probably time to move on down the highway and consider selling the business. Your knowledge of the business is probably exceptional, but when you stop looking for those “signs of success,” a wise business owner will admit that his or her interest is waning, and it’s probably best to get out of the business at that point.
Once you recognize any of these five elements, what must you do? Make the right call…decide to sell the business before the business itself either buries you, or fails due to your lack of attention to detail.
There’s another great opportunity waiting for you. Your objective is to find it.
