Should You Sell a Business Privately Or Use a Broker

This article on businesses for sale by owner canwhilst others may advertise the sale on the
be from the perspective of a business owner orInternet.
from the perspective of a business buyer. AAfter you have advertised the business in the
business can be for sale by the owner or he canproper medium/media you will receive offers. You
make arrangements with a broker to sell it.will need to respond to these offers. Some offers
Business opportunities can come in several waysmay be rejected right away as they are too low
and has been enumerated in the second to lastor are conditional.
paragraph.When you are satisfied with an offer and decide
If you are a business owner and decide to sellto sell the business you will receive payment and
your business yourself then the first thing yougo through the process of transferring the
have to do is to find out the value of yourownership of the business to the buyer. You may
business. This can be done by ascertaining thealso decide the payment method which is most
price that similar businesses have fetched, over abeneficial to you from a tax perspective.
period, say, in the last five years. The researchBusiness opportunities can be found in your
for this can be done on the Internet and also byneighborhood, on the Internet and in your local
talking with people in a similar business. There arenewspapers. It is prudent to buy a business which
also trade magazines which can be used to gatheryou know something about.
information.Some business opportunities come in the form of
You also need to decide whether you will handlefranchises. To buy a franchise may be the easiest
all the legal matters pertaining to the sale yourselfway to run your own business. When you buy a
or whether you need to hire an attorney. If youfranchise you will receive training or guidelines on
decide to hire an attorney you can decide thehow to run it. Examples of franchises are
scope of his work. The fees can be determinedSubway, MacDonald and so on.
as an amount for the job from start to finish orWhile a business is for sale by owner saves the
you and the attorney may decide that you will beowner from paying a commission to a broker it
billed on an hourly basis. You should in that casemay also not bring in the best offers. A broker is
ascertain an estimate from the attorney andusually an experienced knowledgeable professional
perhaps also have the phrase not to exceed inand if the broker works hard on behalf of the
your contract with the attorney.owner he will be able to find several buyers and
After you have ascertained the value of yourthus several offers. The owner needs just one
business you need to advertise it in the properoffer to make the sale provided it is a good offer
media. Depending on what business it is, a certainand meets his expectations. Business opportunities
medium may be more conducive for this purpose.are available to buy a business from an owner or
For example, certain businesses might advertisethrough a broker or when you buy a franchise.
their sale in the local newspaper or in a magazine