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<\/p>\nYou can do many projects yourself with motivation, hard work, and some instructions. However, selling your childcare business is not one of them. Every month, I receive calls and emails from childcare business owners who either sold their childcare business on their own or are in the middle of trying to sell their childcare business themselves. Unfortunately, they are not contacting me to tell me how well things are going but to seek my assistance with their situation, which is not going as they thought it would.<\/p>\n
Many who sold their childcare business by working directly with the buyer are unhappy with how things turned out. They may be having problems with the buyer continuing to need their assistance months after closing.\u00a0 Or the buyer is not making the payment on the owner financing they provided. They and the buyer have a different interpretation of what was agreed upon \u2013 and the agreements are unclear. The business is not performing as well as it did under their ownership, and they will not receive the earnout payment that was part of the deal. The list of potential problems \u2013 even after the owner has sold their childcare business\u2013 can be endless.<\/p>\n
Other childcare business owners are trying to sell their businesses, and things are not going well. They are encountering problems with breaches in confidentiality; the buyer cannot obtain financing, things have been dragging on for many months, problems with getting through due diligence, and many other issues they have no idea how to handle.<\/p>\n
There are many reasons why trying to sell your childcare business yourself is not a good idea. Let\u2019s cover a few significant ones.<\/p>\n
You Don\u2019t Know What You Don\u2019t Know<\/strong><\/p>\n So, why would they try to sell their childcare business themselves? Well, it most often happens because they have been approached directly by an individual buyer or someone who makes acquisitions for a regional or national childcare chain or private equity group. The buyer has told them how interested they are in purchasing their business; they will provide them with a free business valuation, pay more than other buyers, and offer a quick closing. So, the childcare owner thinks I have the buyer; the buyer wants my childcare business; the buyer has done this many times before \u2013 I don\u2019t need to hire a childcare business broker; I can do this myself and save money by not paying a commission.<\/p>\n It is often not until they are far along in the process that they realize their limited knowledge of selling a business has resulted in their getting less for their business and real estate than it is worth; they agreed to things that are not in their best interest; things are not going well, and they do not know how to fix things or get themselves out of the deal. Unfortunately, many do not realize all the mistakes they made until after signing the agreements; the sale is complete \u2013 and it is too late.<\/p>\n Cannot Protect Your Confidentiality<\/strong><\/p>\n It is impossible to protect your confidentiality when selling your childcare business yourself. You cannot thoroughly qualify buyers before they learn who you are and, of course, what childcare business you are selling. Making sure no one finds out your childcare business is for sale is very important. Even very small breaches in confidentiality can result in the loss of teachers, staff, and enrollment.<\/p>\n Working with a childcare business broker helps protect your confidentiality and ensures buyers are qualified before they learn what childcare business is for sale. An experienced childcare business broker will know hundreds of small and big things to do and not do to keep the sale of your childcare business confidential.<\/p>\n No Match for the Professional Child Care Buyers<\/strong><\/p>\n Progressive Insurance has some of the best commercials. Below is one of my favorites from several years ago.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.solutions4childcare.com\/index\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/confused-man-and-women-300x278.jpg\")
We have all heard the saying, \u201cYou Don\u2019t Know What You Don\u2019t Know.\u201d This saying is so true when it comes to selling your childcare business. Most people will only sell one business in their lifetime. How can you know ahead of time how to do something you have never done before? I think most childcare owners know that they do not have the knowledge and ability to sell their childcare business themselves.<\/p>\n