SEASONS OF SELLING

Childress offers a comprehensive guide to selling a business.

Indulging the seasonal conceit the author employs in his latest book, Childress assures his readers that they will undoubtedly experience “the cold chill of winter (signing away your ‘baby’ that you grew into a self-sustaining entity) as well as the freshness of spring – when life is renewed and brings forth a growth you’ve yet to experience.” Drawing on his experience as a Certified Financial Planner, the author lays out a top-to-bottom guide to selling a firm or family business, organizing his insights into a four-step process arranged to evoke the four seasons. There’s the “Vernal” stage, in which the seller assesses the nature of the ending of the business, what they’ll need, and which factors to consider—as well as personal reflection (“the liquidity of a multi-million-dollar business built over decades,” Childress asserts, “is deeply personal”). That’s followed by the “Estival” stage, in which the entrepreneur deals with the personal aftermath: “What do you do next? Have you thought it through? Will traveling and lazing on a tropical beach be enough for you?” Then comes the “Autumnal” stage, focusing on the targeting and assessment of potential buyers for the business; finally, there’s the “Hibernal” stage, which is all about “negotiating, structuring, and cashing out.” The author furnishes a wide array of technical details about corporate financing in each of these steps, maintaining a genial and encouraging tone throughout (“My friend, the time has come. We’ve arrived at a major milestone. You deserve praise for making it this far in the process”). Childress intersperses dozens of anecdotes to lighten his emotionally fraught subject, and he very effectively works in a great deal of useful information into an economic number of pages. Entrepreneurs looking to make the big change will find the advice included here very useful.

A lively and invaluable guide to selling a successful business and navigating what comes after.