Thinking of selling my business to move

[#2 yankeesfan]

My husband and I are thinking of moving to another state and if so, I would sell my massage business.  It's not a huge business, but I worked my tail off to make it successful.  How would I go about getting it appraised?  How would I deal with outstanding massages from client packages??  Any other info would be helpful.

 

[Joh]

Hi Sandyolmt,That is kind of a difficult task.  If you are the only therapist, then your massage business is basically built on your own skills, personality, etc.If you could prove that your clients will continue to come to the new owner, then you are selling what is called Good Will.   That is pretty hard to define.You may also have tangible goods to sell.  Computers, office furniture, transfer of favorable lease on your office space, computer system, filing systems, etc.  Those are much easier to define.The next question is if you can show clearly in your books yearly profits.  Basically you are trying to sell business equity.  The ability to produce income.  And if all of your income is based on you, then you are taking your equity with you.  It is hard to sell a business like that for much.  Sorry You can talk to a business broker in your area and see what they think.  But generally they are pretty expensive for a small business.  I also suggest you check out some books on selling a small business.Maybe you should consider a different option?  Depending on how much time you have before you move, train in a new therapist, and slowly introduce them to your clients.  Then when you leave, you still own the business, and pay this new therapists to run it.  You may get a greater return over time this way.  This may even turn into a more sellable business.I would be happy to talk to you a bunch more about this.  Maybe send me a PM (Personal Message)?Sorry I don't have more good news!Galen