Read This Before You Sell Your Shooting Range
Selling a shooting range involves taking into account many considerations. You also need to work with various professionals, including a business broker, an attorney and an accountant. The success of the sale is dependent on factors such as your reason for selling, the strength of the business's operations and the timing of the sale.
Considerations to Make When Selling Your Shooting Range
1. Reasons for selling the business
One of the first questions a potential buyer will ask is why you're selling the shooting range. Common reasons include retirement, partnership disputes or the need to venture into other businesses. Whatever your reason, it's important to sell the business when it's at its most profitable to get the most from the sale.
Take steps to make the business attractive to buyers. You can do this by generating consistent income, increasing the profits and securing a strong customer base.
2. Getting the timing right
The most effective way of getting the timing right is giving yourself enough time to prepare the shooting range for sale. You want to start making these preparations about one or two years before the time you want to sell. Preparations involve getting your financial statements and taxes in order and tightening business operations.
3. Determining the value of the business
You need to sell the business at the best possible price to get the most out of the deal. The first step to identifying the best price of the shooting range is determining how much the business is worth with the help of a business valuation professional. Make sure you hire a qualified, experienced professional to create a comprehensive valuation that will leave no doubt in a buyer's mind that the shooting range is worth your asking price.
4. Using a broker versus selling on your own
Selling a shooting range can be a complicated, arduous process to do on your own. Even with the help of online resources, the sale process can be hard to navigate considering the steps depend on regulations, which vary from one state to another as well as the compliance and requirements that must be adhered to in order to obtain a Federal Firearms License. A business broker relieves you of a huge part of this burden, letting you focus on making the business profitable and attractive to potential buyers.
Two Major Steps to Selling Your Shooting Range
1. Preparing for the sale
With the help of a qualified accountant, gather and review the financial statements and tax returns of the shooting range for the past at least three years. Create a list of all the equipment you're selling along with the business and all ongoing contracts with other businesses and individuals.
Have copies of these documents ready. Your information package to buyers should also include a summary of the operations of the shooting range to serve as an up-to-date operating manual. Other steps to make during preparation include keeping the business premises orderly and repairing or replacing worn down or broken equipment.
2. Identifying buyers and negotiating the sale
The successful sale of a business can take anywhere from six months to more than 24 months. Among the most challenging steps is finding the right buyer. Working with a Business Broker increases your chances of getting a buyer who will pay for the full value of your business. Established Brokers have the resources to market your business to your target buyers.
A good Business Broker will line up more than one potential buyer to keep your options open. When selling your shooting range, you need to be careful about the information you divulge to prospective buyers because if the wrong information gets to the public, it can hurt your business or the deal. To protect your privacy and ensure the sale is confidential, your Business Broker will have buyers sign non-disclosure agreements.
After the sale of the business, some of the documents you may encounter include the bill of sale, assignment of a lease and security agreement. The buyer may require you to sign a non-compete agreement.
The Bottom Line
Selling a shooting range involves a lot of preparations and negotiation. Working with a highly experienced team of professionals, including a Business Broker, will make the process smoother and maximize the profit you can get from the sale. Contact the LINK Business-Phoenix office today at 480-686-8062 or email at infophx@linkbusiness.com to speak with us about selling your shooting range business.