Inside: 10 reasons to sell your business that are actually good reasons.
Selling your business can be such an exciting thing, but this large step in life shouldn’t happen without proper thought and care. If you have owned your own business and have questioned what reasons people have to want to sell, I have some answers for you.
You might be surprised by why a person would want to sell their business, but they all make sense at the end of the day. Below you will find 10 reasons to sell your business that are good reasons to do it.
Take a look at these to see if any of them describe your relationship with your business and where it is at.
10 Reasons to Sell Your Business
1. Retirement
I know this one might seem way too obvious, but it is basically the number one reason people sell their businesses. Once you are up there in age, you no longer have the drive or the energy to work. You want to sit back and relax while you enjoy the rest of your life. Selling your business for retirement is a wonderful way to give yourself that extra nest egg.
You will probably have already saved money towards your retirement during your career, but having this kind of extra funds on top of it will help you stay extra comfortable.
The sad truth is that money goes fast, and if you aren’t earning it, you are just spending it. So it’s like your business is sending you off the right way.
2. Funds
If you realize that you aren’t making as much as you want to for the amount of work that you are willing to put in, you may consider selling your business. This kind of this isn’t for everyone; perhaps you want to work in a business that allows you more free time for the amount that you are paid.
Or maybe you’re making plenty, but the cashflow side of the next growth step has you second guessing. This is totally normal and actually can be a reasonable reason to sell your business. Just be sure you are getting a full picture of what you are making now and what you’ll take away when the business is through.
If you need to walk through this process with someone, I have a sell your business coaching package that might be a great fit for you.
3. You’ve Lost Your Passion
This is a big one. Many people will pour all of their passion into their business for the first few years, but then it will slowly fizzle out. Even if your business is a huge success, you will struggle to find joy in the day-to-day aspect of it.
Many people will ignore these kinds of feelings because they feel stuck with their business, but the truth is that you are truly not. What great news!!!!
You always have the option to sell. So if this sounds like you, it may be time to hang up the reigns.
4. Safety Reasons
If your business is going through lawsuits that you cannot afford and it is causing you large amounts of stress, it may be best to sell it off to someone with the assets to handle it better.
No company, even your own is worth your health or sanity.
I can tell you that right now.
There are people out there who have the money, time, and energy to handle things like this. So you may want to sell your business in an effort to better your mental and physical health, along with your bank account. Handling a business can be so expensive on the body and heart.
5. A great reason to sell your newer business – Business Momentum
If your business is on the rise, you may want to consider selling. I know that sounds like the opposite of what you should do, but it’s really not. You never know how these markets are going to go. So when your business is at the height of its success, you are more likely to get the most for it.
Simply put, you should sell while the prices are high before they come back down again. Everything in life waxes and wanes; you just need to figure out how to ride the wave that will give you the maximum amount of money in the end.
6. Too Tired
Some individuals will sell when they are getting too tired to continue in the business. Perhaps it’s growing at a rate they are capable of handling, or they are getting older, or they just aren’t interested in it as much anymore.
Whatever the reason, if you are too tired to properly handle your business, that may be a sign that it is time to sell. If you are young and want to start a new business, you can use this money to help you with that big transition.
How lovely it is to get a fresh start in the middle of your life!
7. New Goals
Many people simply find new goals that they are more passionate about. So they will sell off their business to pursue the new one. Whether it be a different idea altogether, or maybe it’s much smaller, so they have more time to spend with family.
Whatever the reason, having a new goal is a big catalyst for selling your business.
8. 10 Reasons to Sell Your Business – You Might Be Losing Money
I think one of the top reasons that people will sell their businesses is because it’s beginning to lose money. If they have already invested their entire life into this project, they shouldn’t have to go down with the ship. So they can sell to someone who has a better chance and make it successful again.
9. Lifestyle Change
Many people who are workaholics will get to a certain point and realize that this working style is not, well, working for them anymore. So they make the big decision to switch up their lives.
I think this is a really important one to bring up because I feel like many people find it taboo to change up their whole lives just because they are a little unhappy. But at the end of the day, your happiness matters more than what other people think. So follow your bliss!
10. Too Big
And finally, the last reason why you should sell your business is that it is getting too big. If you work on creating a brand that you intend to just be your own, but then you slowly build a larger following than you thought, you will have to start employing people and dealing with issues that you didn’t ever expect nor that you wanted.
This is a big one for me as a proponent of building lifestyle business models. I don’t want to manage an office, so any business that would require that of me is not one I am going to keep.
So, if this is the case for you, selling to someone who is better equipped to handle this size of business is the best bet for you.
You get whatever your business is worth, and you no longer have to feel overwhelmed.
3 Bad Reasons To Sell
1. You Are Scared
This is the reality of running a business and unless you have a winning lottery ticket there is easily the fear of failure that follows us all everyday. Although this feeling of fear is real, it’s a bad reason to sell and will often not allow you to get the most out of running or selling your company.
Do it scared, do it well, do it now.
This motto has guided in listening to my gut and doing the scary, but right things often. Being scared is no reason to stop going.
2. You Need To Pivot
This is actually something to think through. Perhaps your industry is changing or something has shifted in your lifestyle that is making you pivot. Before just assuming selling your business is what you need to do first take some time to let the pivot sink in. Try it out and perhaps you might continue growing, or even better because of it!
3. You’re tired of the work
One big reason many of my peers want to sell their businesses is because they get tired of doing the same work day in and day out. One of the best things you can do in this spot it to try your hand at hiring some of that work out instead.
We’ve done this on a number of our businesses. I’ve hired out things like writing when I’ve needed seasons off, I’ve hired out things I hate like inventory management or social media even at times. If it needs to be done, I can promise you that hiring for the position will be possible and might give you the break you need while maintaining control of your greatest asset – your business!
So Should You Sell Your Business?
So, do you understand why some people sell their businesses now? Did you relate to any of these 10 reasons to sell your business?
I have so many questions for you! But this is your journey, so I will let you be for today.
If you are interested in some more tools that will help you understand the what, when, where, why, and how of business selling, let me steer you in the direction of some seriously helpful articles. There is a lot of information to go through, but
- Read more about why I’ve decided to sell in the past.
- Check our my Sell Your Business Coaching Package if you are serious about entering the market.
Selling your business does not have to be a super sad thing; in fact, it’s a huge accomplishment, and it should be treated as such.
I think that if you do end up selling your business, you should have a party to help celebrate that era of your life coming to an end and maybe a nice glass of bubbly! Cheers to new beginnings.
