My dad has enlisted my help in selling a business that he owns. It’s an exterior cleaning (pressure & chemical washing) business in Florida. Not living in Florida, I’m sort of limited to the internet.
I’ve never sold a business before (no, really!) and have NO idea where to start. Does anyone have any ideas? So far I’ve made a small page for it and submitted it to Google. I also listed it on Ebay (they actually have a business for sale section!) but I’m not very hopeful on that front because almost all of the businesses have zero bids.
I’ve never sold a business either, but if I was in his position, I’d approach similar businesses in the area seeing if they were interested in his equipment or customer list. I know there are brokers who sell businesses, similar to real estate brokers. Is this a one-man operation or does he have employees who might want to own it?
I agree with FCM. If it’s just a one-man operation, all you’re really selling then is equipment, the client list, and (intangibly) the company reputation. Chances are, you’ll only get money for the first two. Approach area companies in the business, and offer to sell them what you’ve got.
Yeah you’re pretty much just selling the gear and left over chemical supplies. Find out what the market value of em are and start calling similar companies w/ ads in the phone book.
Whatever he does, tell him not to waste his time paying for a seminar from a business broker, if a broker wants to take him on as a client, it should only be for a percentage of the sale value, and not much more. Though, being a one man shop doesn’t bode well for anyone really being interested. Like they said above, sell the gear and the client list.
(I am a partner in a small M&A firm, but this is merely friendly advice)
As a commercial real estate agent I have sold several businesses over the years. There are specific analytical methodologies you can use to calculate the prospective value of a business, but unless there is a reasonably substantial and marketable current net cash flow from the business, peepthis is pretty much on the mark.
In any given market there is usually a regional commercial real estate magazine that will allow you to list businesses for sale, but if it’s a one man operation a local or regional newspaper ad would probably do just as well. If he is willing to hold cash he has a much better chance of extracting some kind of value from the operation side of the business in selling it to an eager entrepreneur. The risk in this scenario is that the new owner will not be able to make a go of it and the business will wind up back in his hands, or the new owner may sell off the assets and leave him nothing.
This isn’t a big business, I should add. It’s basically a station wagon, a trailer, a computer, and a bunch of pressure washing/chemical washing equipment and supplies
he’s hoping to get about $15,000 for it.