Loadcoach42

There are two types of business owners in this world. One type is a business owner who leaves the business for their children to run and the other type is a business owner who sells their business and moves on. As much as you might want to leave your business to your family, it is probably not a good idea. What if they don’t know how to run your business? What if they have no interest in your business? For these reasons, it is better to just sell your business when you’re ready to finally get out of it.

Below are the top 10 reasons why business owners decide to sell their business. These reasons are made up of many different scenarios that a business owner might find themselves in. Anyone of these scenarios could happen to you as a business owner, or perhaps it is happening to you now. How Retirement Was Invented. In other words, retirement. The idea was radical because back then, people simply did not retire. In the United States, starting in the mid-1800s. A retirement plan has lots of benefits for you, your business and your employees. Retirement plans allow you to invest now for financial security when you and your employees retire. As a bonus, you and your employees get significant tax advantages and other incentives.

So why would you want to get out of your business? Below are the top 10 reasons why business owners decide to sell their business. These reasons are made up of many different scenarios that a business owner might find themselves in. Anyone of these scenarios could happen to you as a business owner, or perhaps it is happening to you now.

Related: What is Your Motivation to Sell Your Business

#1 - New Opportunities

There are new opportunities in the business world which come up all the time. Whether your current business is successful or not, you might want to try another type of business if you see a good opportunity to get started in it. Before you do, though, you’ll have to sell your current business first in order to finance this newest business venture. Besides, you likely wouldn’t have time to run two businesses at once anyway. It is better that you devote all your time to the new business opportunity that came along and just try to make that the best it can be. Meanwhile, you can sell your current business to a buyer who has the passion to sustain its success and perhaps even make it more successful.

#2 - Business Growth

A business that is continuing to grow and make money is certainly a business worth selling. Investors and buyers love to purchase businesses that are already making money. That way, after they purchase it, they can just jump right in and take in the profits too. Buyers are usually willing to pay a price that is above market value if they feel the business has the potential to keep growing. As a business owner, you might want to take advantage of this opportunity to sell your business for big money while things are still going well for it.

No one wants to think negatively when they run a business. However, there is always the chance that a growing business could stop growing someday and then start to decline. If you pass up the opportunity to sell your business during the growth period, you may regret it later if things start going badly for the business. You might not want to take a chance on passing up the opportunity to sell if you feel the business could possibly go south someday.

#3 - Buyer’s Market

If the overall national economy is good and consumers are spending money regularly, then investors are going to be interested in purchasing businesses so they can get in on this action. A buyer’s market like this means there’s going to be a lot of hungry buyers out there looking to purchase a business at any cost. In a way, it is just like the real estate industry whenever there’s a buyer’s market. Buyers will pay above value prices for businesses just like they would for real estate.

As a business owner during a buyer’s market, you’ll have a wide selection of buyers to choose from when you go to sell your business. This means you’ll get multiple offers from buyers after you start advertising your business for sale. It may even end up being a bidding war between these buyers, which means more money in your pocket. Therefore, consider selling your business during good economic times.

#4 - An Offer You Can’t Refuse

On rare occasions, a business owner might not even be thinking about selling their business until a buyer presents them with an offer they can’t refuse. This would be an offer out of the blue which is so attractive to the owner, that they can’t pass it up. Such an offer would obviously be priced way above market value for the business. Since these kinds of offers are rare, you probably wouldn’t want to pass it up because you may not get another one in the future.

There are lots of reasons why a buyer would present an offer to a business owner who hasn’t listed their business for sale. The buyer might feel passionate about your particular business and feels they can run it even better. They may also be a competitor of your business and are looking to expand by purchasing your business and merging it with theirs. Whatever the reason is, it will be an attractive deal for the owner.

#5 - Retirement

The classic reason for someone to sell their business would be to retire. Perhaps they spent the last 30 or 40 years of their life running the business and now they want to fund their retirement. What better way to fund a retirement than to sell a business? Even if you already have retirement accounts set aside, selling a business can give you that extra amount of money that you need to pay off your mortgage or purchase a new house to retire in.

The best thing to do is to plan for your retirement. If you just decide one day that you want to retire right away, the present may not be the best time to do so. It depends on the status of your business and how much profit you could make from selling it now versus in the future. If you have a goal amount of money that you need for retirement, you’ll need to make sure that selling your business will help give you the retirement amount that you’re looking for.

#6 - Family Obligations

As much as you may want to devote yourself entirely to your business, your family obligations may also be expanding as well. Let’s say you started your business as a single person but then met someone that you fell in love with later on. If you settle down and have children with your significant other, this will force you to devote more time to your family and less time to your business. This kind of distraction could cause your business to suffer, so you may decide to sell the business and take on a job which doesn’t consume as much of your time.

Video: David C Barnett explains the top 5 legitimate (personal) reasons why people sell their business

Now, this doesn’t necessarily mean that people with families can’t run businesses because they do it all the time. It really depends on how many responsibilities you have running the business versus how many kids you plan to have. Can your existing employees run the business without you being there all the time? If so, then perhaps you don’t need to sell. But if you are a small business owner, then you probably do need to be there a lot or else you’ll have to sell.

#7 - Business Decline

A business owner might want to sell their business if it is already declining. Perhaps they have tried everything to turn the business around and make it profitable, but nothing has worked. The only choice they have left is to sell the business before its value declines any more than it already has. Sure, the business owner might not profit but at least they will walk away with some money to use for personal expenses or to start another business.

You might not think buyers would be interested in purchasing failing businesses. However, buyers see businesses in decline as an opportunity to jump in and turn the business around themselves. These businesses typically sell for cheap prices because the owner wants to get out quickly. So, the buyer purchases the business and then uses their own skills and techniques to try and make it profitable again.

Related: How to Sell a Failing Business

#8 - Bad Location

There are a lot of factors that make a business successful. The location of the business certainly has a lot to do with it. When you first start a business and decide on its location, this might be a location that was thriving for your industry at the time. Unfortunately, things can change over the years which affect the location of your business. Perhaps there is a higher crime rate in your area and your ideal customers no longer want to shop around there. It could also be that the overall economic status of your local area has declined. So now, people are not shopping as much.

When your business is faced with a troubled location, there are only two options. You can either try to relocate your business or you can sell your business. Relocating your business would be a nightmare because you must lay off old employees, hire new employees, lease or purchase new commercial property, find new suppliers, and find new customers. With all this in perspective, it would be a much better option to just sell your business and then establish a new similar type business somewhere else.

#9 - Bad Personal Health

Sometimes in life, there are personal situations pertaining to health in which we cannot control. You may not want to sell your business but that doesn’t mean that you won’t someday. If you find out that you’ve got cancer or some other terminal illness, then you’ll have to prepare for getting out of the business before the serious symptoms of the disease start kicking in. There’s no sense in trying to run your business while you have a disease because your performance will end up lacking and then your business productivity will suffer as a result.

The best way to get out of the business would be to sell it while the business is still valuable and running smoothly. You don’t want to wait until you’re physically or mentally disabled from the illness because then your business will instantly suffer from this. Then you’ll have virtually no chance of selling your business for a good amount of money if it’s already declining. Therefore, sell your business after you just find out about your illness. Use the profits to pay for your medical expenses.

#10 - Climate Change

Climate change is real and it isn't just an environmental problem, it's already starting to have an impact on businesses, large and small. Increasing frequency and intensity of extreme weather events including storms, floods, droughts and heatwaves all have a direct impact on business operations. It affects income sheets in many ways: lost deals/orders, damage costs, increased personnel expenses (health and safety risks), etc. As a consequence, businesses become harder to plan. What will probably happen then is that not all business owners can cope with similar issues and may decide to step out instead.

#11 - Business Landscape Changes

Worldwide unexpected situations like pandemics, government-ruled shutdowns, as well as global trade wars, local trade restrictions, etc, can change business landscape in many industries dramatically. There are always winners from new opportunities, but a lot of small business owners, especially in traditional industries, may choose selling-off.

#12 - Boredom

A business owner may get bored doing the same thing every day. Even if they are making money at their business, the owner may still want to try something new. It takes a lot of willpower to run the same business for 10, 20, or even 30 years. Maybe they never anticipated on running a business for that long. On the other hand, they could also be a new business owner who has only been in business for a couple of years and doesn’t really enjoy it all that much. No matter what the reason for their boredom is, they might decide to sell their current business and then try to run another business that they’ll have more interest in.

Remember that if you don’t have an interest in your business, then you can never succeed with it. And if you lose interest, then you should sell it soon or else your lack of interest will reflect on its productivity and profitability.

So, should your sell your business? - I hope you got the answer(s).

3 Reasons To Start A Business In Retirement Communities

Related: 12+ Reasons Not to Sell Your Business

Plus: Ideas for how to get started.

Entrepreneur’s New Year’s Guide

Let the business resources in our guide inspire you and help you achieve your goals in 2021.

6 min read

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

If sitting around just isn’t your thing, then retirement is the perfect time to live out the dreams you may have put on hold. Simply filling empty hours with pointless recreation may feel like the opposite of freedom for many of the 72 million U.S. baby boomers, who have worked their entire lives. Launching your own business may be your ideal “retirement lifestyle.”

Six reasons to start a business in retirement

1. Stay active. Studies have indicated that the average retiree will experience a significant health issue within six years of retirement, commonly including heart disease, stroke, arthritis and depression. Staying motivated, active and connected is the best way to combat health declines due to aging. Being active includes exercising daily. Exercise may seem like a daunting task, but it’s easier to be active than one might think. A great way to stay active is to start a business, which involves packing materials, going to the post office and attending networking events. All of this gets your blood pumping.
2. Keep mentally alert. The brain needs regular exercise, too. One way to improve your quality of life is by keeping your brain active through continuous learning. The day you stop learning is the day you start becoming old, no matter your biological age. Staying mentally active can reduce the risk of dementia and Alzheimer’s disease. Learning how to run a business and planning marketing campaigns will keep your brain active.
3. Pursue a passion. You don’t stop dreaming at 50. Find that niche that you are really passionate about. Research has shown that having a purpose in life can lead to a longer life. If the main goal is not to make money, then dig into your interests and hobbies and focus on something that brings you joy. If you enjoy woodworking or needlecraft, consider selling your handmade items online (e.g., Etsy) or at local fairs. When you have time on your hands, there are few barriers to turning your hobby into a business.
4. Supplement your pension or income. You may be relying on reduced income after you retire. A small business could provide support for staying on top of bills, paying down debt or tucking away for a rainy day. You might want to rethink your former career. For example, I used to be a college writing professor. I now use those skills to guide people in writing their life stories.
5. Stay social. Maintaining strong social ties is essential for aging adults to feel a sense of purpose and avoid feelings of loneliness or depression. Nearly one-half of all older Americans report feeling lonely sometimes or always. Leaving a job may mean giving up most of your daily social interaction. By starting a business, you can replenish some of that interaction — with customers, suppliers, postal carriers and other professionals. There are also plenty of online communities for small-business owners where you can get advice and meet people with similar interests.
6. Give back to the community.

• Volunteer at a school: Public schools, in particular, are chronically underfunded and in need of volunteers for a wide array of tasks: tutor, crossing guard and mentor. There are always kids and teachers who need some help.
• Work at a hospital: Volunteers receive thorough training for the particular positions and annual refresher courses are common, the American Hospital Association says. Some typical volunteer roles include visiting patients, working at the gift shop and assisting in blood drives.
• Get involved in politics: Volunteer for a political crusade, grassroots organization or political action committee. You can also work for a candidate you support.
• Help on a hotline: Suicide hotlines exist in almost every city, manned by volunteers. This is obviously an important — even life-saving — way to help. Help lines are also available for people who just need to hear another voice.
• Contact animal shelters and humane societies: Local animal shelters and humane societies need volunteers to care for animals, organize fundraising events, perform administrative tasks, and help rescue pets in the wake of natural disasters such as floods and fires.
• Check with the AARP: The American Association for Retired Persons (AARP) has a page on its website for volunteers.

Related: These Strategies Help Entrepreneurs Combat Anxiety and Depression

Business ideas to consider

The best retirement business ideas start with what you know. If the goal is not necessarily to make money, dig into your interests and hobbies, and choose something that brings you pleasure. If you are looking for something new, here are some ideas.

• Services. Babysitting, pet sitting, guiding tours and interior decorating are activities that can keep you physically active and social while focusing on your community and picking your own hours.
• Handcrafted goods. What are you already doing in your spare time? Things to make and sell might include soap, candles, jewelry and pottery.
• Courses. You have a wealth of life and work experience! How can you monetize what you know? Teaching online courses may require more work upfront, but it offers excellent margins and takes minimal effort in the long run. In addition, you can work from home.

Related: Retired? Here Are 17 No-Cost Ways to Make Money on the Side.

Take control of your life

It just doesn’t make sense to throw away all your knowledge and experience just because of a particular date on the calendar. With life spans increasing, you could easily change your career when you’re 50 or 60 or embark on an exciting entrepreneurial venture for the next 20 to 30 years. So why be stuck in a dull retirement when you can take control of your life and do something interesting, rewarding and fulfilling while contributing to society at the same time?

Related: Retiring Young Could Affect Brain Functions: Study

To become an entrepreneur, you must first, change your mindset. If you think you’re too set in your ways and can’t possibly do something so daring at this point in your life, I’m here to tell you that you can — if you want to.

Stop labeling yourself according to your age or what you’ve done for a career. By seeing yourself as a banker, accountant or salesperson, you’re subconsciously telling yourself that’s what you are; this stops your ability to reinvent yourself.

3 Reasons To Start A Business In Retirement Accounts

If you need business training or guidance (and you almost certainly will if you’ve always worked for someone else), find the right courses and programs that will give you the necessary skills. Better still, find a mentor, someone with business experience to provide feedback about what you’re doing or intending to do. SCORE network offers free mentorship.

Becoming an entrepreneur after retirement may be your best retirement plan as it puts you in control of your life and your future.