Interested in how to sell a business? Tune into today’s episode walking through the closing of my 6-figure food photography side hustle.
Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Google Podcasts
Learning How To Sell A Business
Throughout this series of Side Checks Podcast, I have been sharing all about the sale of my side hustle. For 3 years I ran a successful food photography business on the side. And when I came time to pivot my career, I never considered selling my business at first.
Learning how to sell a business has became a wonderful learning curve. And one I’m excited to continue sharing about. Click here to lean more about my food photography side hustle and the selling journey.
On these episodes of Side Checks, I am sharing everything I have learned about the selling process. If you have thought about how to sell a business in the future, these episodes will guide you on how to get started.
Selling My Food Photography Side Hustle
I knew it was time to pivot my career when thinking about becoming a mom and spending time differently. However, I never considered truly selling my business. That was until I realized there had to be another option other than simply “ramping down” or phasing out my business. You can hear the whole story behind listing my business for sale right here.
I surrounded myself with a networking team that helped me appraise my business (assign worth) and list it privately on www.bizbuysell.com.
My business was a remote photography service that allowed me to work from home. I also employed part-time contractors who worked in different states from their home. Therefore when listing the business for sale, I was able to list it as a virtual company.
Including in the listing was my asking price, the list of all physical assets being sold with the business, a business description, an executive summary, and photos.
Receiving An Offer
I received multiple online inquires. However I received a local lead through a networking connection. The business broker who assisted me in listing the business privately connected me with an interested party. This lead to our first in-person meeting.
I met with the person interested several times. We had a formal in-person meeting, a business audit (where they came to my home and witnessed me in action), and a handful of coffee dates.
About ten days after meeting for the first time, I received a formal offer to purchase the business.
Accepting An Offer
After receiving an offer, I followed with a counter offer. This means I didn’t accept the offer but instead presented another number that I would be accept. After sending my counter offer, the both of us came to agreement in terms. Very soon after this, paperwork was being prepared for closing.
In this episode I mention that the summary between receiving an offer and accepting an offer takes just 1 minute to explain. However, the reality of this was very different. This time period was emotional and I didn’t have full confidence that I 100% knew what I was doing.
The beautiful thing about accepting an offer was that we were able to agree on terms that served the both of us. From the beginning of this process, my prayer was that my business could go on to serve another family, as it did mine so significantly. When I committed to selling the business, I wanted it to bless someone else and have it be a mutual fit.
I am behind happy that this was the case. As nerve-racking as the negotiations process was, coming to an agreement in terms gave me a lot of peace.
Preparing For Closing
Inside this episode I describe this time as pretty difficult for my family and myself. Preparing for closing sent me into a marathon of cooking, shooting, and off boarding myself.
There were three main areas I focused on during this time; off boarding team members, creating inventory to replenish savings, and creating inventory for the new owner. This was a season of business filled with exhaustion despite seeing a finish line ahead of me.
After shooting my last recipe, my husband Tyler and I spent the weekend packing up everything inside our kitchen to be given over to the new owner. For three years (since knowing one another), everything we had in our kitchen belonged to the company. Seeing it all in boxes became a really funny memory for the both of us.
The Closing Table
The day of closing was very peaceful and exciting. We both signed our names dozens of times and listened to a lot of legal jargon.
I remember the signature of releasing my shares of the company back to the company and then my final signature stating I wasn’t going to repurchase them. This was such a bittersweet moment and one I hope to remember for forever.
Coming Up
Next week, I am sharing what post-sale life has looked like. And how you can get started creating a business to one day sell. I have tips and strategies that you can put in place today that will make your business a more attractive asset for someone else to purchase.
Need a full recap? Click here to binge the entire story of building and selling my food photography side hustle. This is a story that will truly make you rethink side hustles.
Are looking to start a business that you can one day sell for big profit? Explore Off The Ground In 12 Weeks and allow me to help you put together that plan.
