13 Mar When to sell your business
Q&A with David & Jay
Question: What Multiple would you say businesses in the Industrial Manufacturing sector sell for right now?
Answer:
My initial answer is to only sell when things are going well. If the business is underperforming, buyers will price the business accordingly.
However, if the business is over performing, they will reflect this in their offers as well. Thus, the best time to sell is the overlap of the business is growing, the owner has several years of high engagement energy left but is thinking about retirement and the economy is strong.
A second answer is along these lines. You meet with your financial advisor to review your investment portfolio. He or she recommends a few stocks to buy and a few to rotate out of each year.
Has any financial advisor ever said…”and we will hold these stocks we are buying until you are 67, and then sell them so you can retire?” No, they tell you they will monitor them closely and when they have peaked, they will recommend selling and reinvesting in something new. This should be true for your business as well.
Takeaway:
Sell when the business is in the right condition to be sold, not based on your age.
During the 2025 Managing and Accounting Practice (MAP) Conference hosted by the Massachusetts Society of CPAs (MassCPAs), Beacon Equity Advisors’ David Humphrey and Jay Galasso presented an AMA (Ask Me Anything) to the CPA firm partners attending. In this Q&A series, Beacon publishes some of those questions to help business owners make important decisions about the future of their company.