| When owners ask me about the right time to sell, they’re usually thinking about one kind of timing. There are actually three, and the one most people never consider may matter most. 1. The calendar Yes, seasonality matters — especially in our business. You don’t want a transition landing in the middle of year-end. But the bigger mistake I see is owners underestimating the runway. These deals routinely take 3 months or more from first conversation to close. Can it be done quicker? Sure, I’ve seen it. But those deals demand a lot more energy and efficiency from everyone involved. Give yourself the time. 2. Your energy This one’s personal, and it’s where I see the most money left on the table. The right time to sell is when you feel the energy fading — not two or three years after. Owners who wait too long watch the business start to decline along with their drive, and a declining business is worth less twice over: once for the lower revenue, and again for the downward trend a buyer sees in the numbers. Think about the great athletes. The ones we remember best, walked away at the top of their game. The ones who hung on for too many extra seasons? We remember the decline. Your business deserves the same exit — at the top, when it commands top value. 3. The market Here’s the one almost nobody plans for. When the economy hits a correction or recession, everything gets harder: buyers struggle to raise capital, valuations compress, and growth slows across the board. History shows that after a major downturn, it can take five to seven years for values to recover just to where they were prior to the downturn. Run that math against your own timeline. If you’re 58 and planning to sell at 65, a downturn at 60 could mean your business isn’t worth pre-downturn value again until you’re 67. A number of economists are forecasting a correction — possibly a recession — sometime in the next few years. I’m not predicting anything; nobody can. But if your exit window falls inside the next seven years, market timing belongs on your radar now, not later. The bottom line The calendar, your energy, and the market — three clocks, all running at once. The owners who get the best outcomes are the ones who are using all three aspects of timing in their planning. |
Anyway, that is my 2 cents, hopefully it brings you value.