As seen in the Cincinnati Business Courier.
If you were a peach farmer, would you rather harvest and sell your fruit at the same time as all the other peach farmers in the country, or (assuming you could control this) when peaches are scarcer? Hopefully you’d prefer to sell in a scarce market, where you could be more of a price-setter than a price-taker.
The same idea, the timing of supply and demand, applies to selling a business. Selling when the market is oversaturated with buyers who are flush with capital is better than the alternative. If you are considering selling your business, you may have heard that “this is a seller’s market” or “multiples are high right now.” Both statements are true, but unfortunately for sellers, these kinds of market conditions don’t last forever.
A few gating factors are driving ideal timing.
How long any of these positive factors continues to be strong is anyone’s guess. But if you are considering a sale, the timing couldn’t be better. I always tell potential sellers I spend time with, “Your businesses’ earnings and assets aren’t worth today what they will be tomorrow.” If you are aiming at a sale in the next three to five years, you might as well try to time this before your peaches spoil.