Time to go homeHere is an interesting statistic for you.

There are approximately 5.5 million Baby Boomers, aged between 53 and 71, in Australia today.  That huge group of post-war individuals own about 420,000 small businesses, which is more than half of SME’s in the country.

With many “Boomers” retiring in the next 10 years, and most having inadequate superannuation balances to sustain their retirement lifestyle, those that own businesses, are relying on the sale of their business to supplement retirement nest eggs.

Without selling for a good price and in a timeframe necessary, those self-employed business owners will be looking at a financially stressful retirement which does not adequately reward them for the years of effort and risks associated with being in business and employing people.

The key for these entrepreneurs is to sell their business for a good price at the time they are ready to retire.  The scary thing to consider, according to a recent report, is 75 per cent of Australian SME businesses will be for sale in the next 5-10 years, and only 25 per cent will successfully sell.  That’s a worry for over half of the small business owners in the country.

Unfortunately, selling a business is not easy.  It takes more than listing it for sale on the Internet.  It requires a combination of a good business with a healthy cash flow, a realistic price expectation, a well thought-out marketing strategy, a proven sales process, and most importantly, excellent brokerage skills.

If you are a Baby Boomer business owner and need to supplement your retirement nest egg, I strongly recommend you see a professional business broker as soon as possible to ensure you obtain the best deal in the fastest possible time.  Be ready and plan ahead.

By Dean Demeyer, Business Broker Finn Business Sales