Selling your business can be a significant undertaking and is no easy task.
This statement goes doubly for a family business. You and your family have put your blood, sweat, and tears into maintaining your business – possibly for several generations.
However, you may have reached a point in your life where you think it might be wise to sell the family business, but you’re not quite sure.
Here at Generations Law Group, our Boise-based business attorneys can help you determine if now is the right time to sell your family business and help you with whatever follows.
Read on for some of the telltale signs of when you should sell your family business.
You Have Received A Great Offer
You may not know if it is a convenient time to sell your family business, but thankfully, a great offer is timeless.
If you have received a substantial offer for your family business – especially if it is higher than what others have evaluated for your business – that might be the final push you need to know that now is the right time to sell.
Your Family Needs More Money
Sometimes, your family needs more money than any income from your family business currently provides.
In the case of significant financial stress, such as an illness in the family or a recently-acquired debt, it may be time to sell your family business.
By monetizing your family business’s value, you can ensure that you have accounted for whatever immediate financial needs in your family have arisen.
(Avoid this issue from occurring in the future by completing your Idaho estate plan that includes your business ahead of time!)
The Next Generation Doesn’t Care
Sometimes, the next generation of your family does not have an interest in the family business.
Young people, especially children, are prone to having dreams of their own; these goals may not be aligned with the family business.
In these cases, if you have nobody in your family to care for the business after you and your generation have passed or retired, then you should consider selling your family business.
It may be better to receive a significant lump sum now than keep it in the family with custodians who do not have the same love for it.
The Business Is Causing Conflict In Your Family
Conflict is common in families, but when it comes to the family business, tensions may come to an all-time high.
If you find that your family business is causing stress and disturbances in your family, it may be time to sell your family business.
By ridding yourselves of the company, you can help mend any schisms that have occurred in your family. After all, it’s always family first!
Management Issues, Within Or Outside Of Your Family
Sometimes, certain people are not the proper material for business management, and that’s okay. Some people simply do not have a managerial mindset.
However, if one of these people is a family member who is in charge of managing your family business, it can cause trouble.
If poor management has caused serious issues in your family business, then you may find it easier to sell the company than repair the damage.
The Company Does Not Follow Family Values
Sometimes a family business will grow beyond the family.
If you have hired a manager to care for your business, or parts of the business your family do not directly oversee have expanded, then the company may not follow your family values or improve your image anymore.
Recently, this scenario happened to the popular Patagonia brand, owned by its founder and his family. In protest of the company’s new direction, the family sold off their shares.
If you feel that your family business no longer exemplifies what your family stands for, it may be time to sell.
Contact Generations Law Group To Help Make Preparations To Sell Your Business
Selling your family business is no easy decision. That’s why our team at Generations Law Group is here to help you every step along the way. Contact us to schedule a strategy session, where our team of experienced Idaho business attorneys will help you plan for your family business’s future.
