If you want to sell your business, it is important to prepare for an acquisition before you hit the market.

Preparation includes clean, easy-to-understand financial documents and a strong business development team. These are the two things that every single due diligence process will focus on.

If you’re interested in buying or selling a digital agency, check out www.wearebarney.com

Selling a digital agency take much less work than you'd expect. Often, sellers are nervous about the work involved with a major business transaction.

You will need to prepare financial documents, vet the buyer, and facilitate the due diligence process. The whole thing can take as little as 4 months to complete.

If you’re interested in buying or selling a digital agency, check out www.wearebarney.com

Good news, it doesn’t take terribly long to sell a digital agency. If you can produce good financial documents and work with an ethical, experienced broker, it can take as little as 3-4 months.

Once we’ve learned a little bit about your business, it takes just a few weeks of speaking with buyers to find a deal, followed by 45 days of due diligence.

Then, we close. Since we only work in the digital agency space, it makes up more efficient then most other firms.

If you’re interested in buying or selling a digital agency, check out www.wearebarney.com

A letter of intent (called an “LOI”) is a document that declares the preliminary commitment for purchasing a business. The letter outlines the terms of a prospective deal, but can change through due diligence.

It will outline confidentiality, when you’ll be paid, and the noncompete agreement.

If you’re interested in buying or selling a digital agency, check out www.wearebarney.com

Once you sell your business, how will you get paid? We hear this question all the time at Barney from agency owners that sell their business.

Often, sellers will receive 33% cash at close, 33% via seller financing, and 33% via an earnout. However, that can vary from deal to deal.

If you’re interested in buying or selling a digital agency, check out www.wearebarney.com

In this video, Amanda will be discussing how acquirers usually value a digital agency. Valuation is often based on a multiple of EBITDA.

The larger your agency, the larger that multiple will be.

If you’re interested in buying or selling a digital agency, check out www.wearebarney.com

There are three types of buyers for digital Agencies. Strategic buyers, entrepreneurs, and financial acquirers.

Each one comes with its own tradeoffs. It’s important to know the benefits and drawbacks of each before you make a deal.

If you’re interested in buying or selling a digital agency, check out www.wearebarney.com

After your sell your agency, can you stay on board and still collect a salary? It totally depends on who is buying your business.

If you want to retire and move, then you can’t sell to a buyer that wants a two year earn out. Usually the buyer will want you to stay on for at least 90 days.

If you’re interested in buying or selling a digital agency, check out www.wearebarney.com

After you sell your company, your employees will have a new boss. Will the new business owner keep everyone employed? This is a common question amongst business owners looking to sell, but you shouldn’t worry about it too much.

If a buyer is interested in continuing to make money from your agency, then your employees will be crucial to its continued success.

If you’re interested in buying or selling a digital agency, check out www.wearebarney.com

When going through a digital agency acquisition, due diligence is par for the course. This is the buyer’s opportunity to ensure that the business they are looking at is worthy of their offer.

This usually takes 30-60 days and is the equivalent of a home inspection while buying a home. It’s the last major step before the close.

If you’re interested in buying or selling a digital agency, check out www.wearebarney.com