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Five Tips for Selling Your Business

Andy Cagnetta is a recognized speaker and trainer in the subject of business sales, valuation and negotiations.

When it comes to gurus about selling or buying a business, they don’t come better than Andy Cagnetta. His Transworld Business Advisors is the No. 1 business brokerage and international franchisor. Transworld has more than 900 business brokers and 5,000 businesses for sale. 

Andy shared five top tips for selling your business in an interview with Kevin Gale, Group Editor-in-Chief, Lifestyle Media Group, parent of SFBW. Cagnetta previously conducted a webinar with SFBW.

  1. Commit to selling your business and realize selling is not an easy process. If a seller can’t tell a potential buyer what they are doing next, they may be afraid you will get cold feet. Also, be ready to compromise.
  • Determine how much your business is worth. Businesses are valued based on what the buyer is going to make.  Ensure earnings are increasing—don’t start winding things down because you want to retire. Have solid financial records and technology systems.
  • Make sure the business is transferable. If you are chief cook and bottle washer, that’s not good. Neither is having four family members who are all leaving. Have a properly trained staff and a systemized and documented business—enough that it’s turnkey.
  • Watch for deal killers: You have one customer that is 80 percent of your business. You have an unresolved environmental issue, an unsettled lawsuit or an unsatisfied SBA loan. You forgot to file UCC paperwork with the state to show equipment loans were paid off.  Get rid of old equipment and obsolete inventory. Clear out antiques and collectibles not included in the sale. In short: Stage your business for sale.
  • Make sure corporation records and state filings are accurate. Some sellers may not realize filings still list former owners or past partners.

View the SFBW webinar with Andy here.

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Drew Limsky

Drew Limsky

Editor-in-Chief

BIOGRAPHY

Drew Limsky joined Lifestyle Media Group in August 2020 as Editor-in-Chief of South Florida Business & Wealth. His first issue of SFBW, October 2020, heralded a reimagined structure, with new content categories and a slew of fresh visual themes. “As sort of a cross between Forbes and Robb Report, with a dash of GQ and Vogue,” Limsky says, “SFBW reflects South Florida’s increasingly sophisticated and dynamic business and cultural landscape.”

Limsky, an avid traveler, swimmer and film buff who holds a law degree and Ph.D. from New York University, likes to say, “I’m a doctor, but I can’t operate—except on your brand.” He wrote his dissertation on the nonfiction work of Joan Didion. Prior to that, Limsky received his B.A. in English, summa cum laude, from Emory University and earned his M.A. in literature at American University in connection with a Masters Scholar Award fellowship.

Limsky came to SFBW at the apex of a storied career in journalism and publishing that includes six previous lead editorial roles, including for some of the world’s best-known brands. He served as global editor-in-chief of Lexus magazine, founding editor-in-chief of custom lifestyle magazines for Cadillac and Holland America Line, and was the founding editor-in-chief of Modern Luxury Interiors South Florida. He also was the executive editor for B2B magazines for Acura and Honda Financial Services, and he served as travel editor for Conde Nast. Magazines under Limsky’s editorship have garnered more than 75 industry awards.

He has also written for many of the country’s top newspapers and magazines, including The New York Times, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, Miami Herald, Boston Globe, USA Today, Worth, Robb Report, Afar, Time Out New York, National Geographic Traveler, Men’s Journal, Ritz-Carlton, Elite Traveler, Florida Design, Metropolis and Architectural Digest Mexico. His other clients have included Four Seasons, Acqualina Resort & Residences, Yahoo!, American Airlines, Wynn, Douglas Elliman and Corcoran. As an adjunct assistant professor, Limsky has taught journalism, film and creative writing at the City University of New York, Pace University, American University and other colleges.