The first step in selling your business should be to consult with a licensed Florida business broker to learn the methods they will use to put your business on the market and how much their services will cost. Selling the business yourself could be complicated, as you would have to learn a series of methodologies that would take up valuable time and distract you from your daily business tasks.
When a business owner hires a specialized broker, he can rest assured that he will be able to devote the majority of his time to continuing to operate his company, while the broker exercises the following attributes and functions inherent to his professional capacity:
Commitment: When the broker receives the mandate from the seller, he will be in charge of executing the following steps:
- Place the company on the market for sale;
- Attract, interview and screen potential buyers and ensure that they have the necessary financial resources and management capacity;
- Advise the seller during all stages of the process:
- Receive and analyze the purchase offer presented by the potential buyer.
- Help the owner compile all the necessary documentation for the evaluation that the potential buyer will carry out (Due Diligence).
- Coordinate with the closing agent all the details to consummate the transfer of business ownership from the seller to the buyer.
Confidentiality: This is, perhaps, the main difference between selling real estate and selling a business. The business broker must maintain the confidentiality of his mission and take the necessary precautions to prevent employees, suppliers, creditors and competitors from finding out that a business sale process is underway.
Assessment: An experienced business broker must be able to issue an opinion of the company's value that serves to approximate the sales price, in line with the seller's aspirations and market tolerance.
List the Business: Florida business brokers are usually subscribed to multiple listing systems where their colleagues' businesses are also posted for sale. So, when you hire a Florida business broker, you are getting the support of a large sales force linked to the Florida Business Broker Association (BBF).
Extensive Exhibition: Business brokers are typically affiliated with specialized websites where they advertise the businesses they have for sale, meaning the listings will have global exposure via the Internet. In our particular case, we also have our own sites, negociosenflorida.com y https://negocios.miami , which are the business portals in Spanish with the highest traffic in Florida.
Intermediation: The business broker acts as a transaction agent and serves as a liaison between the buyer and the seller, seeking to harmonize the desires of both parties to achieve common satisfaction.
Documentation: The business broker is in charge of coordinating with the buyer and the seller all the steps of the process of analysis of the accounting and administrative books; review of the lease contract; validity of licenses and permits, and other paperwork. You will also coordinate with the closing agent the documentation related to the transfer of business assets to the buyer.
As the reader can observe, the sale of a business is not “blowing and making bottles” but rather a procedure subject to various formalities that must be met so that there are no “loose ends” after the day of closing of the operation. The intervention of a business broker should bring the parties the peace of mind necessary to conclude a successful operation, fully in line with Florida legal regulations.
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Author: Alfredo González (Alfred@negociosenflorida.com)
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