Selling a business in Florida is often surrounded by an avalanche of prescriptive advice and endless lists of «you should do this or that» before going public. From revamping administrative systems to updating technologies, these recommendations aim to maximize the business’s value, but what happens when these formulas don’t fit the seller’s reality?
This is particularly the case for baby boomers , a generation that has made its mark on the economy by building brick-and-mortar businesses with effort, sacrifice, and vision. For decades, these entrepreneurs have not only generated wealth but have also used their success to provide a bright future for their families, sending their children to prestigious educational institutions around the world.
However, there’s a paradox here: children, after being educated with the most advanced tools of humanistic, scientific, or technological learning, often opt for their own careers and projects, leaving their parents’ business legacy behind. When this happens, the baby boomer finds himself at a crossroads, and the decision to sell his business emerges as the most logical option.
The Mistake of Pretending to Change
In this context, suggesting to a baby boomer that they invest time and money in modernizing their business to attract a buyer is, in many cases, a recipe for emotional and financial burnout. You can’t ask someone who has invested their life in a proven, successful model to suddenly adopt technological tools or management strategies that are unfamiliar and unnecessarily complex for their current operations.
This rigid approach ignores a fundamental truth: traditional businesses also have their market. There’s no need to disguise them as something they’re not to find a suitable buyer. The value of these companies lies in their proven track record, their stability, and their ability to generate consistent revenue, even with traditional systems.
The Role of the Business Broker
This is where the business broker comes into play as a true salesman. A reasonable broker doesn’t obsess over transforming the business into an unattainable ideal. Instead, they understand the seller’s circumstances and design a strategy that allows them to market the business » as is ,» avoiding unnecessary distress for the owner.
The broker should focus on highlighting what really matters:
- The legacy of the business: years of stability, profitability, and reputation.
- Business potential: growth opportunities that the buyer can explore.
- The simple transition: a proven model that doesn’t require immediate reinvention.
Making Lemonade
The pragmatic approach is not only more realistic, but also more humane. Selling a business shouldn’t become an overwhelming process for someone who has already given so much. Baby boomers deserve a sales experience that respects their achievements and eases the transition to the next stage of their lives.
In the end, the true art of selling a business isn’t imposing rigid rules, but knowing how to make lemonade out of the lemons at hand. That is, finding the right buyer who values the business for what it is, not for what it could be with radical transformations.
Because if the baby boomers have taught us anything, it’s that success doesn’t come from following standard formulas, but from building, with perseverance and passion, something unique and lasting. And that uniqueness deserves to be recognized and celebrated, even when it’s time to say goodbye.
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Author: Alfredo González [negociosenflorida.com] Image courtesy of pixabay.com