The process of selling a business is complex and multifaceted: It involves working with multiple stakeholders who sometimes have conflicting priorities. While only you can decide when to sell your business, you also must rely on these other stakeholders in order to have a successful sale. It’s your job to make sure their decisions align with your own goals.

Why sell your business?

Every business owner will have to consider a transition at some point in their career, whether that’s upon entering retirement, starting a new business, or even reentering the workforce as an employee. Even if your gut feeling is telling you not to sell your business yet, you might find yourself in circumstances that leave you with few better options. On the other hand, you might be looking for the chance to sell and suddenly sense the timing is right. Regardless, you have to consider a number of factors other than your intuition. You can’t go with your gut unless you’ve also prepared well for a business sale.