Be absolutely sure you want or need to sell your business. Changing your mind during the sale process will cost you money, will waste the time of many people, will hurt your reputation, and could possibly lead to litigation by a jilted suitor. Before you can deal with the emotional issues that arise with your decision to sell, you must fully understand why you are planning to sell. The right time to sell a business is when it is performing well and has stable or growing revenue and profitability. The business ideally should havefour to five years of operating history.
Consistency builds buyer confidence.
A sudden jump in profits the year before you plan to sell does little to build buyer comfort unless the reasons for the increase are clear. The right time to sell is when you are in good health and are under no compulsion to sell. If you have an urgent personal need to get out of the business your negotiating strength is diminished. There are usually more buyers with sound equity positions during a recession than during good times. Almost all businesses go through a cycle consisting of introduction, growth, maturity and decline.