Entrepreneur

You’re thinking about selling at one of the lowest points as far as valuations go in the past 20 years. Whoever the buyers are they are likely financing the deal and paying extremely high interest rates. If you can hold on for a couple of years and keep growing the business the multiples are going to increase and you could have a substantially different outcome.

I sold my company five years after getting my first LOI and the valuation went from just about where you are to 8 figures. It was VERY hard to turn down those initial offers, and I looked at 16 different LOIs over the years and had one deal I signed that fell through, but I’m so happy I didn’t cash out earlier on.

If you have 3 buyers chasing you now there will be more in the future and the existing ones will still be there especially if they are PE backed. Tell them you’re humbled by their offers now but you want to put your head down for 18 months and get the business to a more valuable asset. They will still be there if you hit that growth.

Also dig into the deal mechanics more. How are they financing the cash? Are you rolling over equity? How much leverage are they putting into the new company? Go listen to Built to Sell podcast and see if there are any founders on there in your vertical. I built my exit playbook off of podcasts by founders in my industry that had done podcasts talking about their exits and directly talking to them, and even did my deal with a PE firm that bought one of their companies.

If you’re desperate and miserable sell, and a million dollars is going to improve your life but you’re still going to have to go work for someone and get a job which is very hard to do after working for yourself for five years. It’s definitely not enough to retire on and you’ll be back in the rat race you left to start the company in the first place.

Are you making an income from your business?

900k is a ton of money, but hardly enough to retire off of at 31. Are you going to get a job? Will it pay more than the business?

I work in the buying and selling companies industry. DM me for any advice. I can help answer any questions you may have.

I mean it’s really up to you. What are your values and what long term goals (think 10,20,30 years from now) do you have? Where do you see yourself in the future and do these goals align with your values? It’s really about do wanna go with your head or do you wanna go with heart on something like this.

I’m 38m, not married and no kids, so work has been a big part of my life and I’ve sold 2 of my businesses so far. I built an app back when I was 24 and in grad school and sold it to Google. I banked it and used it to bankroll another distribution business and got offers, like you, when I was 33 and sold it for a nice profit. To which, I put a sizable amount into another business and that’s where I’m at right now. It’s allowed me to buy my home, have 2 nice cars, a couple residential and a few commercial properties, and a decent portfolio. I had no regrets selling because I knew what I was going to do afterwards, so my advice is to plan for your future and discover how you see yourself and what you’d be doing if you let go of your business. If you don’t have a plan, you may want to take a beat. Good luck.

I would say that the most objective way to decide would be to simply take a pen and paper. Get away from all the distractions and start making two comparison lists. One which defines the advantages of selling your business at this stage and one with advantages of not selling it.

Write down bullet points. Include everything like what you would do, should you sell it, your financial situation as well as ambitions in the near future, your plans for the future, both for business and for family (should you want that) etc. Cover as many aspects as you can possibly think of. Don't rush it, take a day or two to work on it. Finally, look at both the lists in parallel, without having any prejudged bias for one side.

Without knowing the variables and conditions at your end, my general advice would be to sell it. Financially, it gives you a good base to build your life upon. Additionally, you now have the funds and experience to start a new business (should you want that). Believe me, the new project, though would require your time, wouldn't be as much blood and sweat as the first one. You can now hire the right staff (because of your funds and expertise) to manage a lot of the trivial work load and you would be well aware of a lot of processes, policy level implementations, registrations etc. While dishing out most of the tasks to your employees, you look after the core stuff and decisions. This way, you grow, while enjoying the process and without too much pain.

Hoping you have a great future.

Take a few days off.

An option you didn't mention: if the business is profitable, why not just maintaining it and cash out money regularly ?

900k£ is a large amount of money, but definitely not enough for you to stop working. What do you have in mind if you sell the business ? Long vacation and slow down in life, another business etc... At the end it's more about the life you want than just money.

Re start is more difficult than continue. On the other hand it is not a life changing money. If I would have the time and money I like pursue next level. It also depends on your niche. If there are big companies in your niche then there is a chance.

starting and scaling a business requires 2 different skillset.

I sold my business earlier than I wanted but I was lucky because in the next few months, covid hit and the entire business nosedived.

I sold based on a hunch that bad days were coming. the feeling is coming again that bad days are coming.

if I had stayed, I would have probably lost everything.

Take the fucking money

Assuming the price is right, the best time to sell is when you feel you've taken it as far as you can take it. Even if the business itself has potential beyond that.

If you sell earlier than that, then you could leave huge amounts of money on the table given the way businesses are valued as a multiple of profit; For example sometimes 100k profit growth could yield 300k - 1m in additional valuation. This mentality is why Zuckerberg didn't sell Facebook to Yahoo! for $1bn.

On the flip side, if you don't sell at the peak point of how far you can take it then you may risk fortunes turning, company going backward, and receiving a lower valuation in the future.

So do you feel you've taken it as far as you can? And, is continuing to Captain the ship something you can and want to do?

Go on, take the money, and run. Your only worry is fear of the "void of a purposelsss day" looming ahead of you. There's plenty to fill a day and life, you don't even know what's out there, you will know it when you have $$ and free time. This could be a 1x opportunity, don't waste it.

I would be selling in your shoes - having competing offers is a powerful situation to be in.

You're in a "conundrum."

On the one side you want to get out and be able to rest.

On the other side, part of you is saying that you're giving away a lot of your "blood, sweat, and tears" and being fully compensated.

Write down the "pro's and con's" of every option.

Write it down in your journal and make sure to give it a day or two before deciding.

Your mind will help you point the way... Just make sure to give you mind time enough to figure it out....

Once an entrepreneur always an entrepreneur. Where is your heart at this point? Head in that direction. Seems like you might be feeling an itch beyond your current business. If you sold now and put some distance between yourself and this venture I’m pretty sure you will have ideas for your next potential exit. Congrats!

You know how to make it rain...

So what's YOUR "real" concern?

Why pay taxes on $750,000 in one fiscal year, at the highest tax bracket, THEN placing what’s left into yield generating accounts?

Request that the funds be deposited into a company account, set to grow via safe, yield generating investments like treasury notes. Specify in writing that the business-owned account is non-withdrawable, except for an annual "salary" payment to you. Maintain a 5-10% advisory role on the board without additional responsibilities outside of advising the new owner. Opt for structured payouts on the yield for further tax advantages, enabling the business to retain sale proceeds on paper while you benefit from gradual income growth, reduced taxes, and a more tax-advantage yield strategy utilizing nearly the entirety of the proceeds.

Of course, consult a lawyer and accountant, but there are far better ways to structure the proceeds then being written a check for $750,000 in one tax year.

Here’s some napkin math on what that would cost you assuming 37% avg federal tax and 5% state:

**Remaining Balance: $750,000 - $277,500 (federal tax) - $37,500 (state tax) = $435,000

So this would cost you roughly $315,000 in taxes before you’re able to invest the proceeds into generating yield.**

I was considering this point yesterday and came to conclusion that I needed about the same amount you need to do exactly what you plan and be able to retire. Obviously, I’d work on another project. Go for it, you can build another business with the comfort of having a nice passive income to cover all your bases.

Take the money man! If you're emotionally attached it will only get worse. Sell it and invest in your life.

Why not both ?

My old boss did the following : Sell business, start another business almost exactly same domain, hire back every one of the top former company employees ...

Do you think there’s room for bigger and better profits than the exit quotes you’re currently getting, if you continue to operate your business?

Do you think you have the will-power to keep going? Or even if you decide to sell, would you love to do this again?

Are you currently facing any major obstacles that an exit this huge would solve? More like a disaster waiting to happen?

I believe starting a business is arguably the hardest thing on earth closely followed by marrying a GEN Z baddie🙂

900k is life-changing money anywhere and you can 10X that in one year with the right investments.

Take a moment to evaluate how far you’ve come and the future you envision.

I pray the good lord gives you strength and direction 🙏

Let me know if there’s anything else I can help with.

Sell and take it easy for a bit.

You have the skill set to produce a product, market it and make it successful and attractive to investors

Take the money, it will free you up and clear your mind for your next successful venture which you can put 100% effort into with 800 pounds behind you

Don’t let yourself be tied to things

Remember that you've learnt a lot growing this business. Think of how much quicker and easier it might be next time. It sounds like it's a life changing amount of money for you to have as a comfortable fallback and investment in your future. Selling it doesn't mean you have to just live a stress-free life of comfort, you should continue to challenge yourself and do what excites you.

I think deep down you know if you'd like to retain a share of it, but either way well done on getting to this stage!

Running multiple businesses gives me a purpose.

I would really struggle to fill the void if I completely sold up.

It's a difficult one.

What sort of business are we talking about?

900k will only buy u a house but not sort you for life. Build value for another year or two and sell for £2m

Honestly ~1M is kinda nothing nowadays - you cut your recurring income. I would say you should delay your exit plan

Sell 1/2 now with a option to call on them to purchase the other 1/2 while you stay on at a predetermined rate When ready sell the lot, wait 12 months and I reckon you’ll buy it back at a considerable discount

Take the money and walk away. I've sold multiple businesses, and yes, you get attached to them, but once you aren't in charge, it's not ever going to be the same if you stick around.

Last business I sold, I stayed on for 6 months to help run it. Things changed. It is now 2 years after the sale, and they have run it into the ground. It's basically worthless.

They knew better than me on how to run the business I started, and now it's done.

Take the money and run, and never look back. It feels really good once you let go.

If it was me, and I was worn out from getting that far, I'd take it.

It might not be life changing, but if you can structure it in a way that the proceeds go into another company or trust that you can use to invest the proceeds without getting reamed for tax, then all the years that follow will he that bit easier, and if you decide to pick up something else, it'll come with considerably less pressure.

I wouldn't use this money to fund a new lifestyle, I'd use it to build my wealth and security in the background, and consider my options for FIRE down the line.