Look before you leap. Undoubtedly you have a pretty good idea of what you believe your business is worth. You need answers to these and other marketplace related questions before an intelligent decision can be made. Although personal considerations usually motivate thoughts of selling, the money involved is important also.
Most business owners have a significant portion of their net worth tied up in their businesses.
Your first step should be to contact an experienced business intermediary to gain answers to your questions. Their experience and knowledge of current marketplace conditions is critically important to you as you consider your decision to sell. A business may be seen as worthless by one yet be worth millions to another. The person who perceives the most opportunity pays the best price. Identifying the right buyer is important because if a business is over exposed in the marketplace through exposure to the wrong buyers, it tends to lose value.