Selling a business can feel more than a little overwhelming to deal with. There are so many different aspects to keep in mind, from choosing when to start marketing to how you want to close the deal, that it can be easy to put it off, waiting for a ‘better’ time that might never come.
Going through this process with a business in the healthcare niche can feel particularly daunting. In addition to the usual sticking points, you’ll also have a range of tricky regulatory hurdles to cross, but it needn’t be too difficult. Let’s take a look at what that process might look like from start to finish.
The early stages of selling a healthcare business will consist of preparing your paperwork and accounts and thinking about a good time to sell. You’ll want to ensure that any troubling debts are settled, that your accounts are legible, and that all regulatory and legal paperwork is properly organised.
You’ll also want to consider the best time to sell based on your goals. For example, it might be worth waiting for better market conditions, or you may want to go a little quicker if you need the cash for another project.
Next, you’ll want to start looking for services to help you with the sale. These will include accountants to help get you prepared financially, business brokers like Dexterity Partners, and valuators to help you put a price on your business.
You’ll need to hire these services at some point, and it makes sense that you do it sooner rather than later. Take your time when choosing, as they can have a substantial impact on the outcome of the sale.
It’s vital that you take care when navigating the regulatory hurdles that govern the healthcare niche. You need to make sure that you’re selling to an appropriate buyer and that you’re complying with all sorts of data protection laws, such as GDPR. This will take time, but it’s absolutely essential that you get it right.
Towards the end of the sale process, you’ll need to negotiate with potential buyers. This process will involve checking that they’re appropriate buyers from a legal perspective, thinking about whether they’re a good match for the brand (especially if you care about its future) and coming up with a price that you’re all happy with.
It’s vital that you think about all of these things before you actually start negotiating. You want to be relatively settled on most of these questions so that you can go in with a confident idea of where your lines are drawn.
Selling a business in the healthcare industry needn’t be too difficult. Make sure that you get help from the right kinds of services and that you leave enough time to get everything in order. After that, everything should be a lot more manageable.