First Steps to Selling Your Ecommerce Company
A Home Business Article Contributed by G. Uma Bennett
First Steps to Selling Your Ecommerce Company
After all the effort, frustrations and success business owners experience with an ecommerce company, there may come a day when you decide that it is time to move on. When you have finally decided that you want to sell your business, you have to decide on a price that you can justify, using valuation help from your accountant and attorney. The next step is to talk to potential buyers, the question is are you ready? Preparing your business for sale can be the most difficult part of the process.
Much like the road to obtaining financing for a startup, selling your business requires documentation that summarizes to potential buyers what your company is and why you are selling it; a list of assets, financial reports in addition to your ecommerce company website traffic reports, which should show details of rankings are necessary to prove market viability.
The Value of Financial Reports in Selling Your Ecommerce Company
With the initial preparation for selling your ecommerce company completed, it is now time to look at your financial reports that you need to include in the package that your potential buyer will review. Your most recent completed year's Profit & Loss or Income Statement report and Balance Sheet, plus all previous years of financial statements.
The documents that support your major financial statements are your tax, bank accounts, and/or merchant statements should be held in reserve, in most cases this information is not necessary for the sale. The basic package that outlines the performance of the ecommerce company should be sufficient for potential buyers to understand what is for sale so that they can decide whether or not they want to pursue negotiations.
As with any sale process, it usually takes several meetings to finalize the sale to the satisfaction of both parties, so be prepared for many more questions.
How Your Ecommerce Company Sale is Evaluated
As a prospective buyer reviews your ecommerce company for investment, remember that all your components of your sales package; materials, presentation, and the way you respond will all count as factors toward the final evaluation of the business. The logic behind this is simple: how can your ecommerce company be successful if you are unorganized, do not have complete or accurate performance and financial records and your presentation is unprofessional or you are reluctant to respond to questions?
Put yourself in the shoes of the buyer and it is easy to understand this way of thinking. And experience show this it is better to err on the side of caution when it comes to financial transactions. Even with the best planning and presentations, there is no guarantee that you will sell your ecommerce company, so it is wise to be prepared to continue moving forward.
However long it takes to finalize the sale, the process and potential buyer feedback provides you with a fresh perspective that even in the worst case scenario of keeping your business, can inspire improvement and growth.
