Adopt my restaurant: what's behind the decision to sell

Lately, I've been talking a lot with people who are selling their businesses. And here's what I've noticed for myself.

Selling your business is difficult and painful. The restaurant business is very emotional; it's not just premises and processes, it's memories, interesting encounters, love, and friends. All of these – let's call them intangible assets – add value to the business. You want to sell and you don't want to sell, because you feel sorry for this part of your life.

The restaurant business doesn't let you go that easily. Most of those who sell or simply close their establishment dream of opening a new one, even while selling. These dreams may remain dreams, or be realized many years later. Sometimes successfully.

Even professionals who have already created a bunch of successful restaurants sell their establishments. But if at some point something went wrong, they close or sell without regret. It's dead, so it's dead. Selling or closing is not shameful; it doesn't devalue the owner as an entrepreneur or a person. It doesn't make them a failure. It just happened that way; they'll be lucky with something else.

It's better to sell than to just close down. Sell at any price. Not selling at 100? Sell at 50. Not selling at 50? Sell at 20. Then the establishment will have a second chance; it won't rot, it won't turn into a pharmacy or a gas station. There's nothing worse than equipment and furniture piled up in a warehouse. It all stinks and is destroyed by mice, and it's worth nothing anymore.

It's not customary for us to sell successful establishments (which is a pity). If an establishment is for sale, it's either unprofitable or yields a very small profit that doesn't satisfy the owner at all. There's a lot of work and little money. This can happen even with outwardly successful projects. Recently, there have been quite a few such establishments. And this is a chance for buyers to acquire a great business at a reasonable price.

It is very important to make a timely decision about closing or selling. No profit for more than four months? Even though you've tried everything, all the song and dance. No, and no again. Sell, close as soon as possible, don't accumulate more debt.

You should build a new business in a way that makes it easy to sell. As if it's NOT for yourself. From the very beginning, properly document everything, record all figures, and build a system. This will make your work easier, and you might not even need my advice on selling.

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