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1. Decide to Sell

Before you do anything, ask yourself this: Is this what I want? Whether you’re ready to move on to another FBA business, make a career change, or just take a payout for your hard work, once you’ve made the decision to put your business on the market, you’ve taken the first step. If you ultimately decide now isn’t the right time to sell, it’s a good idea to have an exit strategy in mind so you’ll be ready to act quickly when the time comes.

2. Choose your sales strategy

To sell your business, you may opt to work with a broker or connect with prospective buyers directly. As in real estate, brokers offer their expertise to prepare your business for sale and market it to buyers. All this commands a fee that in most cases you’d be responsible for. Selling directly cuts out the middleman and can often speed up the process significantly, as long as you’re working with an experienced buyer who can keep things on track. Strategic buyers can close a transaction within 30 days of signing a letter of intent (LOI).

3. Protect your information

Once you’ve engaged an interested buyer, you’ll need them to sign a non-disclosure agreement (NDA), which is a standard legal document that prevents them from distributing your confidential information or using your information for their own gain. If you don’t have an NDA, don’t sweat it: most buyers will have a standard NDA template you can use.

Once you’ve engaged an interested buyer, you’ll need them to sign a non-disclosure agreement (NDA), which is a standard legal document that prevents them from distributing your confidential information or using your information for their own gain. If you don’t have an NDA, don’t sweat it: most buyers will have a standard NDA template you can use.

4. Work out the details

So the NDA’s been signed, and the buyer likes what they see. At this point, they’ll submit a non-binding agreement to purchase your business for an agreed-upon payment, which could be a flat fee or a multiple of your yearly earnings. If you accept this valuation, you’ll sign an LOI that gives them exclusivity to conduct a formal due-diligence process, which can take up to 30 days.

5. Due diligence

Once the LOI is signed, the countdown to close can begin, but don’t pop the champagne quite yet: it’s time for due diligence. This phase allows the buyer to audit key metrics of the business, including historical earnings, growth, customer reviews and inventory analysis, and work closely with the seller to get a better understanding of the business’s operations. If no issues are uncovered, the buyer presents the opportunity to the lenders and Investment Committee so a final decision can be made.

6. Sign on the dotted line

The final stretch brings you to the Asset Purchase Agreement (APA), which is the legal contract needed for closing. The APA documents the terms and conditions, purchase price, payment instructions and other key details pertaining to the transaction. Once all parties have signed on the dotted line, that’s it: you’ve sold your business, and all that’s left to do now is to pop that bubbly. Cheers!