Selling a Family Business Made Easy: A Step-by-Step Guide

Selling a family business is not forbidden in India. Let it grow rather than making it a stagnant pool of water. Communication plays an important role in any aspect of life. Off late, we understand the significance of communication especially in the long run of business. It compiles of business strategies, verbal and non-verbal, official and confidential. At the same time, lack of communication can ruin the business to the dust. Exchanging information and conversing with others can boost business relationship. There are a few points to be considered before selling. You need a perfect vision to sell your business.

Key Consideration Before Selling Family Business In India

1. 1. Family’s vision, mission, values and commitment

   2. Desired conduct of the family towards employees

   3. Policies of ownership and employment as well

   4. Involvement of next generation family member

   5. Family credibility regarding finance in the market

   6. Functioning of the board of directors accurately

Selling an extensive family business is not an easy choice; many look at it as a failure. But sometimes it is the best option. There are many business opportunities as we see many smaller start-up software companies are bought by the giants and doing extremely well. On the other hand, we also witness small local restaurants for sale bought by the hotel chain and are doing fantastic. An amusement park called Riverside Park, in Massachusetts was sold to a national company. They had to sell to get a huge capital to invest in modernization and also stay fit at the competition; otherwise they would have lost the present business as well. Every business for sale has a different and unique reason. If you handle it appropriately then you would come out with flying colors.

Next important step is to take the ‘next generation’ into confidence. Study what their goals are regarding ancestral business or if they like to have any changes to be made. It is not always as glamorous as we see or hear – a King’s throne has too many thorns! Sometimes children do not want to be in charge of the family business. You need to prepare the Business for Sale.

Once a soldier used to kick the stove as soon as he got up from the bed early morning, when asked he answered his father used to do the same. The unproductive family ritual will not help in the progress of the business and also lose the motive in the process. If people belonging to old schools are taking up too much brain-space, it becomes difficult to teach Old Dogs New Tricks. At the end, the family business will be a status quo in the name of tradition and culture. In India, we have this aspect surfacing too often. Sometimes the business owner becomes a micro manager, expecting unique personal qualities in the employees apart from their performance in the office. In this mounting pressure, it is becoming crucial to balance between family work and realities. Managers in such businesses should be capable of turning conflict into cooperation. Gone are those days where only IQ mattered. Now Emotional Quotient has taken a major role. It is gradually becoming hard to balance as the reins are in the younger hands.

Wrapping Up

Every family business looks into the future as the pinnacle of progress with the help of technology. On the other hand, almost every field of business has been saturated. In this scenario, just take a deep look at your business requirements and don’t hesitate to sell it off for the best to move on in life with a new perspective. Hence prepare the Business for Sale!