Hi everyone,

31 years old, no kids.

I own a small business, and have received offers in the region of £750k. Plus cash in the business would give me a total equity value of around £900k on exit.

I started it 5 years ago now, with the dream that one day it could be sold. Well that day has come and I’m in a very fortunate position of having 3 companies submitting offers.

But, instead of feeling excitement, I feel a sense of dread that I’m doing the wrong thing. This business has been everything for me for 5 years. At points I have genuinely thought it would end up killing me and through the toughest days and weeks the thought of the end goal was often what kept me going. So not to be feeling a huge rush of excitement and relief right now is a surprise to me.

I have 2 options.

  • Exit the business and take the money. in this situation I would invest the profits in property and lead a considerably lower stress, yet comfortable lifestyle.

  • The second option is reinvest our profits and try and take it to the next level. This would invoicing recruiting, advertisement and investment in our general operations. I’d be committing to another 2 - 5 years and going back in balls deep. Obviously the risk here is we dramatically lower our profitability by doing so and fail to scale any further. I worry we may then miss what could be a once in a lifetime opportunity to sell a business for decent money.

Not really sure what I’m expecting to get by posting this, but if anyone has thoughts or has sold a business themselves, did you experience this? Did you regret it post sale? All advice appreciated.

  • eastvillageresident@alien.topBEnglish
    1·
    1 year ago

    Calculate how much you make annually after tax then compare it to how much after tax you would have from selling the business (taxed different, can end up being much less % than your income tax).
    How many years would it take to earn the same amount? Where’s the business / industry headed? Since 3 companies have offered to buy you out, im going to assume theres plenty more room to grow.

    Have you invested in property before? Because everyone says this (once i have X amount i’ll just invest in property) but its just like running a different kind of business. No guarantee its lower stress. Except with your business you already have experience and profits.

    I was in your position couple years ago, and I sold. My thought process was I would take a break (sidenote: took wayyyy longer than i should, money and comfort kills dreams) and use the money to start a new business, invest in real estate, or buy a business.

    I recently had a thought pop into my head…I already had something profitable, and I knew the ins and outs, and what I needed to do to increase sales. The odds of me doing this for my own business is way higher than anything else I could spend that money on.

    I’m not saying i regret it though. Like you, I went through a period of time where I wanted nothing to do with the business, and selling it felt like the weight of the world off my shoulders. So even though I knew what I had to do…I wouldn’t. And I think if i held on, the business wouldve ended up declining, and then if I wanted to sell, my offers would be much lower based of the decreased revenue. When I sold, it was on the uptrend. So, think about the numbers, and what you need to do, and most importantly, can / will you actually carry it out. When I’m in this position again, I’m 100% going balls to the wall.