The Right Time to Sell
Unfortunately, there’s no one-size-fits-all answer to this question, as it depends far too much on each individual’s specific circumstances. It’s important to think carefully and weigh all aspects—both from a business and a personal perspective—against one another in order to make the right decision. So it really depends!
Market trends show that there is an ever-growing group of entrepreneurs who are selling at a time that defies classification based on age. Experience shows that these are entrepreneurs who built the company themselves and ran it for decades. For some of these individuals, a certain sense of disinterest sets in, and they come to the conclusion that they want to do other things in life besides running this one company.
The Ideal Time to Sell a Business
An entrepreneur sells at the right time for age-related reasons when he is still at the peak of his abilities and has the business fully under control. In other words, this means that there have been no serious declines in revenue or earnings due to this reason so far, and they can thus offer the business “in top form” or at least “in good shape” and, as a rule, sell it successfully. In this sense, the right time to sell may be at age 50 for one entrepreneur, in their mid-60s for another, or even later in some cases. However, the entrepreneur will only be able to achieve this if they begin the sales process in a timely manner.
Unfortunately, some business owners sell at an age or in a state of health where they are literally “blackmailed” by a potential buyer because they must sell as quickly as possible. As a result, a purchase price that might have been achievable one or two years earlier is no longer within reach, and the entrepreneur ends up agreeing to seller warranties that they would not otherwise have accepted.
An entrepreneur sells far too late when they are no longer in control of their business, employees are contemplating leaving, or some have already resigned because they don’t know what the future holds. This situation sometimes leads to a company becoming completely unsellable, resulting in a quiet liquidation or bankruptcy.
In conclusion, an entrepreneur should sell his company when he himself is in good health and has a stable personal life, and when the future outlook is positive. As an entrepreneur, one should also ask oneself whether one would buy the company oneself. If the answer is “yes,” and one is personally willing to do so and those around one agree with this decision, then it can be said with certainty that there will never be a better time to do so.