Deciding if the Time is Right to Sell the Business

Listen to Randy Burns as he describes knowing when the time was right to sell his family's business. In a family business, it is important to consult all family members as well as consider the condition of the market when deciding whether or not the time is right to sell.

We were ready to sell in 2008, ultimately, the entire business. My sister was, by that point, out of it. She was a stay-at-home mother, if you would, and had other businesses on the side, she was a little into the travel agency business, so she had sort of removed herself from the business. We had started up a separate business with my brother, my father and myself called Moutainview Bags, and at this point, in 2008, my brother was running that exclusively on his own, so he sort of had his own business going as well. So it was my father and myself, um no, my wife was out of the business at that point, so it was my father and myself and we sat down and had a good conversation and felt the time was right, led by him, there was no question at that point, I had some questions and I had some goals, but we had a good, over a drink or two, had a good conversation and ultimately led to its time to move on, and it made sense for many different reasons, including the hockey market at the time, in 2008, as I mentioned, the global market in 2008, the timing seemed right for everyone. Certainly he wasn’t in a position, he was ready to ride off in the sunset in terms of retirement at his age. I wasn’t there yet, obviously, at the time in my early 40’s, but I was ready for a different challenge. It’s time consuming, when your passionate about something, you don’t necessarily realize it, but it’s taxing too, it’s taxing on you as an individual, on your family as well, so not just on your business family, but my immediate family as well with my wife and kids, a lot of time spent on the road, a of of time away from home to get things done, and I was just ready for something different. Key Takeaways Before making a decision to sell: • Consult all impacted family members • Take into consideration the life stages of the owners • Weigh the pros and cons for both the family and business