Many people dream of having their own business. Not everyone gets to realize that dream, of course.
However, for those that do, there inevitably comes a time when they must give it up. It could be that they pass it on to someone else, such as a relative.
Another alternative is to simply close up shop and sell off assets and inventory, if there is any. Should they decide to sell the entire business instead, there are no guarantees anyone will buy it.
Barriers to Selling Your Business
If you own a business, you may be struggling with these decisions too. If your aim is to sell it in whole, there are plenty of reasons it’s hard to sell your startup.
1. Difficult to Let Go
When you start a business, you put a lot of work into it to get it going. The hard work doesn’t stop there, though. You must continue delivering excellent products or service to keep it running successfully.
As you might expect, you become very attached to your business. That can make it difficult to let go when it’s time to sell your startup.
2. It is Worth Too Much Now
One of the biggest reasons it’s hard to sell your startup could be because of its value. It’s very exciting to see your startup take off and grow into something big. Nevertheless, that growth could be the very thing holding you back from selling your business.
As your business gets larger and increases in value it becomes more expensive to prospective buyers. They must come up with more money for its purchase. That limits the number of people who could actually buy your business.
As the number of potential buyers decreases it naturally lowers the odds of you getting it sold.
3. You Owe Too Much
The reverse could also be true when you own a business. You could be upside down on what you owe on it meaning you’ll lose money if you sell it.
Clearly nobody chooses to be in that situation on purpose. That being said, it does sometimes happen because managing cash flow can be tricky. Unfortunately, if you suddenly find you need to sell your startup, it could hold you back.
4. It Will Be Worth More Soon
Working hard to grow your business makes it hard to sell if you know it will soon be worth more. You may have to sell it for less that it’s actually worth if you need the money fast.
5. Your Goals Weren’t Reached
You may have another reason not to sell your startup. If your goals weren’t reached, you may prefer to keep working to reach them first.
Selling your business without accomplishing what you set out to do can feel like failure. Therefore, you might be hanging onto your business so you can continue to strive for those goals.
6. Employees Would be Out of a Job
Does your company have employees? You might be worried about where they will find work if you sell your startup.
But the truth is that even if you need to sell your startup soon you can’t worry about everybody else. Give them as much notice as you possibly can once you begin negotiating the sale of your startup.
As you can see there are several reasons it’s hard to sell your startup. But you shouldn’t let that stop you if selling it is really the right thing to do.
Republished by permission. Original here.
Image via Due.com
This article, “How One of these 6 Things Might be Stopping You from Selling Your Business” was first published on Small Business Trends