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How Do I Know When It’s Time To Sell My Early Education Company? 

We get this question in one form or another most every day. The short answer is that you should sell whenever you want to sell. However, your decision to sell (or not sell) is oftentimes shaped by a number of factors. If you recognize these factors and their effect on your decision making process, then you’ll be better equipped to make the best decision for you.

1. LIFE TIMING–Some of our clients talk with us off and on for years before they decide to sell. Whenever you decide to sell, it’s best to sell from a position of strength. Too often, people begin to get tired and the performance of their centers or schools slowly declines. It’s like a pro athlete at the end of sports career. However, unlike the pro athlete, the largest payday in your early education career is most often the last day of your career so it’s important to protect it.

2. ECONOMIC TIMING—As many people learned in the 2008+ real estate collapse and the stock market crash, you can do everything right and still lose…in some cases lose everything. Some of our most grateful clients are the people that sold in 2007. Whether they were watching the economy or just lucky, the difference in selling in a good market versus a bad one can mean a swing of 60% or more in the value of your early education company.

3. HEALTH—Your and your family’s health has a strong influence on your ability to manage or oversee the quality of your program. While most of us will push ourselves much harder to care for the people we care about, there are mental and physical limits for everyone. Make sure to pay attention to these limits. Sometimes, you and your family will do better to take the bigger payday earlier than planned.

4. RETIREMENT—As you approach retirement, it’s a good idea to reduce the amount of risk in your portfolio. Whether your portfolio contains stocks, bonds, derivatives, real estate and / or a collection of companies you don’t want to get caught in a high risk position when you don’t have as many years to recoup losses.

5. NEW CHALLENGES—Many people become very successful in the early education industry. Once everything is well-organized and the company requires less of the owner’s time, many entrepreneurs look for new opportunities. Some people manage to oversee the operations of their early education company successfully after adding a new company, and some early education companies suffer when the owner is distracted by other pursuits. It’s important to know the capacity of yourself and your management team when you begin to step out of the daily operations.

From a purely business perspective, the goal is to always maximize your return on investment. By paying attention to these five primary factors, you will increase your odds of maximizing your returns.

As always, we hope you find this information to be helpful.


Best to you….Brad Barnett, President BFS®

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