Small or large businesses - Are either more difficult to sell?

The experience you have with the sale will depend on the kind of business you’re selling, of course. Here, we take a look at what’s more difficult to sell - small or large businesses - to help you understand what to expect.

Selling smaller businesses

As you’d expect, there are aspects of selling smaller businesses that will be easier and others that will be harder than selling a large business. 

Pros of selling a small business

One of the main aspects of selling a small business that makes it easier is the lower asking price you’ll likely set. With smaller businesses, you’ll generally be able to target a larger pool of potential buyers, making it easier to find someone to take over.

With smaller organizations, you’ll also find that there are fewer regulations that you’ll need to comply with. There will be fewer employees to consider during the handover, and you’ll likely find that it’s easier to communicate with them about it in an effective manner.

Cons of selling a small business

That doesn’t mean that it’s all easy, though. With smaller businesses, it’s more common to be a bit more relaxed about things like document keeping, meaning that it can take a look of work to get everything sale-ready when you do decide to sell. 

Similarly, with smaller businesses, the owner will typically be a lot more involved. There might be a lot of slightly idiosyncratic practices that are difficult to explain to potential buyers, especially compared to larger, more standardized operations.

Selling larger businesses

The same goes for larger businesses - here are the pros and cons. 

Pros of selling a large business

With larger businesses, it’s likely that you’ll have been forced to take a more structured approach, regardless of any thoughts about selling the business. Having these structures in place makes it a lot easier to show business brokers like Dexterity Partners what it is that you’re working with, and get a proper sales strategy up and running.

Cons of selling a large business

Due to the very nature of large businesses, it can also make it more difficult to navigate through the sale process. Steering such a large ship through any complex journey will always be tough, and selling a business is about as complex as it gets. 

There will be numerous regulations to comply with, from employment protection laws to more industry-specific regulations that cover things like client data. You’ll need to be a lot more careful with these, and likely will need to consult with numerous external services such as solicitors.