An Owner’s Guide to Selling a Business in Florida
Selling a Business in Florida
A Guide for Florida Business Owners by Patrick Archer, MBA, CBI, CM&AP | Florida M&A Advisor | Calder Associates of Florida | 305.763.4112 (Mobile) 407.499.2855 (Office)
Selling a Business in Florida is an important decision for owners of these essential business in the Sunshine State.
Owners contemplating selling an established Florida business must weigh the pros and cons of selling the business in today’s environment. Retirement is the primary motivating factor for most owners, while other owners may be planning to relocate and pursue new ventures in different industries or different geographic markets.
Regardless of the motivations, sellers of small and medium-sized businesses in Florida will want to package and price the business to stand apart from competing listings and attract potential buyers. Many of these buyers are looking to take ownership of a successful business in Florida and tap into the positive demographics, population growth, logistics infrastructure and other trends benefitting Florida small business owners today.
Timing Considerations when Selling a Business in Florida
If you are the owner of a successful business in Florida, now could be a great time to take advantage of these trends and the rising demand among U.S. and international buyers for great businesses for sale in Florida that are established, profitable, “essential” in the eyes of local governments, and resistant to external pressures like recessions, foreign made goods, and changing consumer tastes.
Selling a Business in Florida today can also help sellers command top dollar considering the supply and demand imbalance of available businesses in Florida post-pandemic. While the pandemic wiped out thousands of small Florida businesses in sectors like restaurants, gyms and beauty salons, Florida businesses that survived the lockdowns emerged stronger and more attractive in the eyes of their owners, their customers, and potential buyers.
Who Wants to Buy A Business in Florida?
Actually, the better question might be, Who doesn’t want to buy a business in Florida? especially when you look at population growth and migration patterns across the United States over the past few years. The influx of new residents has unleashed a tidal wave of new customers and business owners in Florida.
Post-Covid, more residents and companies fled the punitive tax regimes and failed anti-business policies of northern and Midwestern states like New Work, New Jersey, Connecticut and Illinois. New Florida residents with experience as successful business owners in other states are now applying those same skills to Florida-based operations either as front line employees, experienced managers and owner/operators of great Florida businesses.
“The better question might be…Who doesn’t want to buy a business in Florida?
In addition, owners of successful business in your industry are always looking to make a strategic acquisitions that can help them grow market share, take out a competitor, add complementary service offerings, or expand geographically to a new market with good demographics and healthy upside potential. These potential buyers range for competitors in your own backyard to out-of-state operators looking to make an initial or follow-on acquisition here in the Sunshine State.
Still another category of potential buyers are private equity groups that may or may not specialize in the type of business that you operate. These buyers are typically looking for attractive growth opportunities for their investors and target acquisitions where they can lend their general business expertise in areas like finance, marketing and operations to an existing business, streamline the operation, and ultimately exit once a target valuation has been obtained. These buyers often seek to keep the current owner or other senior team members on board to ensure a smooth transition.
Skills needed to Operate an Established Business in Florida
As in all states, the business landscape in Florida is highly competitive, and owners of the most successful businesses have many years of experience and hundreds of satisfied customers who have depended on these companies for years, decades and, in many Florida family businesses, over a century.
Current owners thinking of selling a business in Florida will want to know that potential buyers of the business have the operational knowledge, managerial skills and financial resources necessary to manage and grow the business for the next generation.
Many buyers of an established businesses in Florida will pursue SBA financing, and most SBA lenders will want to see that the buyer has some knowledge or relevant experience in the arena.
“SBA lenders will want to see that the buyer has relevant experience”
Ideally, a future owner of an established business in Florida would already have several years experience as an employee or owner/operator of a similar business in their home state or home country.
Many owners of established distribution businesses in Florida will only consider selling their business to a buyer who has a proven track record of experience in the industry or a related industry, either as an employee or an owner/operator of the business. Most SBA lenders will view potential buyers through the same lens of relevant experience and qualifications.
Best Cities For Selling a Business in Florida
For potential buyers open to living anywhere in the Sunshine State, sellers of businesses in Florida will be competing with other owners of similar business statewide. These buyers will be weighing several factors including a variety of demographic and quality of life metrics that will impact both their decision making process.
“Sellers of Florida businesses will be competing with owners of similar businesses statewide”
Florida’s population of 24 million is spread throughout the state’s 67 counties, but the largest clusters of high net worth households paying top dollar for goods and services are concentrated in the southern half of the state along a ring of 14 coastal counties on the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico. This “golden horseshoe” of Florida demographics encompasses the 25 Wealthiest Zip Codes in Florida based on Average Gross Income.
“This 14-county coastal region is the Golden Horseshoe of Florida demographics.”
This coastal region extends from Tampa/St.Petersburg on the Gulf side, south to Naples/FortMyers and down to the Florida Keys, east to Miami/Fort Lauderdale and extending north through the coastal communities of Pompano Beach, Boca Raton, Palm Beach, Jupiter, Stuart, Hobe Sound, Port Saint Lucie, Vero Beach and Melbourne. Some of Florida’s largest and most businesses are located in this 14-county coastal region.
This coastal region of South and Central Florida also encompasses 9 of Florida’s major seaports including Port of Miami, Port of Tampa, Port Everglades, Port of Palm Beach and Port Canaveral. Major airports in this region include some of the largest and most important air passenger and freight facilities in Florida including Tampa International (TPA), Regional Southwest (RSW), Miami International (MIA), Fort Lauderdale (FLL), West Palm Beach (PBI), and Melbourne (MCO).
And, of course, no conversation about desirable areas to live and own a business in Florida would be complete without mentioning the Orlando metropolitan area. “The City Beautiful” is one of the fastest-growing metros in the country, and the influx of new residents creates ample opportunities for new and existing business owners.
“With over 2 million residents, Orlando’s economy is booming and increasingly diverse”
Long known as a tourism mecca and home to theme park giants like Disney and Universal, Orlando’s economy is booming and increasingly diverse. And world class infrastructure improvements like the new $3 billion Terminal C at Orlando International Airport facilitate domestic and international arrivals and intrastate travel with the addition of Brightline, a high-speed rail link between Orlando and South Florida metros like Miami, Fort Lauderdale and West Palm Beach.
What Is My Florida Business Worth?
If you are thinking about selling a business in Florida, it’s a good idea to work with a licensed Florida M&A advisor to get a better understanding of the current value of your business and a most probable selling price to qualified buyers business with some combination of cash and financing, either through an SBA loan, seller financing, a bank loan, a leveraged buyout, assumption of debt, or some other buyer/seller arrangement.
Even if you are not planning to sell your business today, getting a feel for your current market valuation will give you a better understanding of where you business stands relative to industry averages and what steps need to be taken to reach your target selling price in the near or distant future.
If you would like to request a complementary, no obligation valuation of your Florida business, please call me today at (305) 763-4112 or choose a convenient time for a free consultation using the button below.
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