A good question to ask a seller when meeting together to look at the business is to explain the strengths and weaknesses of the business. This is important as you make plans for the business and find ways to make it grow and be more successful.
A strength that every business should have is integrity. From the owner of a business and flowing down throughout the entire staff of employees, integrity and honesty are essential. It is difficult to have a successful business if customers do not trust the owner and the staff. If an employee is found to be dishonest and isn’t truthful to customers, it is best to replace that employee with someone who has integrity.
Excellent customer service is another important strength to have. No customers, of course, would mean no business. Building a personal relationship with customers and following up to see if the product or service sold to them is satisfactory is very important. The owner is competing for these customers with all competitors. Being friendly with the competitors and agreeing to sell or buy from them makes life easier for all, as either may occasionally need a part or something for a customer. It is a good idea to analyze the competitors to see if there is anything you might want to do to increase market share. Maybe you could expand the number of products sold and even break out to completely different products. You should continually look at possible changes in the business, as no change means becoming stagnant and not growing.
A good training program for new employees is important and will start them in a positive direction. It will also help build strong employee attitudes. As employees may need to be absent from work periodically, it is a definite strength of a business to have more than one employee with knowledge of the operation of each machine or department. This enables the business to operate fully in the event of an unexpected absence. Of course, the business owner should be able to step in and do any job at a moment’s notice. As a part of the training process, employees should be trained to do what the business owner does. The owner should not be so tied to the business that a vacation is impossible, and employees also need to be able to keep the business running as usual in case of an emergency that takes the owner out for a few days or longer.
In addition to a good training program, a plan should be in place for when the owner leaves the business by selling it, suddenly becomes very ill or dies. When you purchase the business, you will want to prepare a plan, whether or not the current owner has one in place. If you become very ill and unable to work in the business or suddenly die, everything can be lost as your family tries to run the business they know nothing about. If the employees are trained to operate it without you, they can continue, making it possible to sell your prosperous business. This can also be job security for the employees, as the new owner would probably want them to stay. Although you need to be prepared for anything, hopefully you will be able to sell when you decide to retire or do something different. It is definitely a strength for the business to have trained and trusted employees who can operate the business without the owner.
Selling a business is a very personal thing. Blood, sweat and tears have been put into it, and the owner is proud of the accomplishments. Because of this, it is actually a compliment to the seller that the profitable business continues to thrive after it is sold. It is important for the owner to be prepared to sell and walk away knowing a buyer paid a fair price and appreciates the opportunity to purchase a great business with growth potential.
