It’s approaching fast: the time is coming when you won’t be in charge of the business. Perhaps you’re nearing retirement, struggling with your health, or maybe you just have a case of serious burnout; there are many reasons Owners decide it’s finally time to sell. It’s a difficult decision, but once you’re truly ready, it’s time to begin the process.

The first step is the most important one, and usually makes or breaks the sale: choosing...

Brokers do great deal of upfront work so they can professionally and aggressively market each business for sale.

Prepare an Information Package

The information package summarizes the business, describes the circumstances of the sale, and shares why it is an opportunity to an interested Buyer. It includes photos and usually a video...

Your business is “on the market”!! Each business is aggressively advertised, 100% confidentially and anonymously. BottomLine advertises to:

Our database of interested Buyers.
The major business-for-sale websites.
BottomLine’s website!
Specialized groups (trade groups, associations, etc.) that may be interested in your...

You’ve received Offers to buy the business; that’s very exciting! Now it’s time to evaluate them. The choices seem simple: you can either accept, counter, or decline.

However, there’s a lifetime of nuance in those options, and that’s where an experienced Broker really pulls their weight. We'll never make that decision on behalf of a Seller; we only facilitate the process. We can (and do) advise on what you might...

After an offer has been accepted, due diligence begins. Due diligence is the deep dive into a business’s books and records that should answer all the questions buzzing around every Buyer’s head, and will confirm whether this opportunity is truly worth buying.

You’ll conduct a Documentation Review confirming the business is “as represented”. You'll verify the revenue, expenses, and earnings in...

Escrow serves a valuable role; no business purchase should be without one. The escrow company facilitates completing the transaction, ensuring all the terms and conditions of the purchase agreement have been met before allowing the sale to complete.

Escrow is definitely crunch time for Buyers, who juggle their current workload in addition to preparing to buy the business. During this 45-day period, Buyers are typically:

You’re officially in charge: now it’s all up to you! You’ve entered training and transition, that fixed window of time to benefit from your Seller’s experience. The training time varies among businesses and was agreed upon in the Offer.
Training

Learn as much as possible about the business and industry. The subjects you’ll cover depend not only on the operational requirements of the...

You’ve handed over the business, which is operating full speed ahead under new leadership. There are always loose ends after you’ve passed the reins, so it’s time to wrap up and wind down:

Wrap Up
Outstanding tasks rarely line up 100% with the handover date, so there are usually loose ends for the business that overlap into the Buyer’s ownership. They vary from deal to deal, but often...