Bill Hayes, B2B CFO – Exit Planning and Exit Strategy

Bill Hayes, B2B CFO Partner – Exit Planning/Selling a business

Hi, I’m Bill Hayes, an Exit Stratey Planning Partner with B2B CFO. Clients often ask me “When is the right time to sell my company?”

This is a very delicate question because selling a business is a major life decision. Many experts believe owners need to come
to the decision to sell after a period of reflection, so that they are mentally and emotionally prepared to transfer the company to new owners and move on to other pursuits.

I believe business owners should first consider there psychological readiness to let go of the business and create a post transaction vision for their life.

The second consideration in knowing when to sell is to determine whether the business is on an upswing and has legs. This is different from trying to time the sale perfectly to sell at the peak. The best time to sell a company is when it’s operating efficiently and profitably. So its performance is sustainable into the future and any prospective buyer can see this.

By following this advice, business owners will know when they’re ready to close out this chapter in their lives and move on
to new and interesting challenges. This is the initial counsel I give to many clients who have asked the question, “When is right time to sell my company?”

Then we get to work creating value in that company for their future sale that inevitably will come. I hope this helps.