Exit Rich: The 6 P Method to Sell Your Business for Huge Profit

by Michelle Seiler Tucker

Believe me when I say one of the worst things a company can do is promote a top salesperson into management. Xerox learned that the hard way with me.

The true sales price of a business is not based on what its owners need to pay off their debt or live on; it’s based on how many cylinders a company operates on and how profitable it is. At the end of the day, cash flow must support the asking price and meet the buyer’s needs.

Business owners invest their money, energy, and resources to target their ideal customer and entice them to purchase their goods. So why would they not invest as much in targeting the ideal buyers that will one day purchase their most prized possession, their business, and then build the business to suit those buyers’ specific buying criteria? Business owners would have such an advantage if they simply planned their exit from the very beginning.

so-called absentee businesses, such as Laundromats, storage facilities, car washes, trailer parks, and apartment complexes, don’t require as much hands-on attention from the owner as other small businesses, they do require some. Many buyers want residual income without investing a lot of effort, so absentee businesses that show positive cash flow sell more quickly than all other small businesses.