They’re called Baby Boomers for a reason. To date, the 78 million Americans born between 1946 and 1964 make up the largest generation in the country. They also comprise the biggest demographic of limousine business owners. With more than 800,000 boomers turning 65 in 2011, nearly all markets will be saturated with an unprecedented number of businesses for sale over the next few years. It’s a phenomenon that stands to have a major impact on both sellers and buyers.
Seller Strategy
Retiring Baby Boomers seem to face bad financial news at every turn. Statistics have shown they are poor savers. Many are in debt. Social Security is becoming more and more unreliable. The good news is that business owners have leverage – if they act quickly. Rather than wait until the bulk of similarly-aged business owners retire and sell, clogging the market and reducing prices, consider making plans for putting your limousine business for sale today. A smart exit strategy can put you in a prime position to take advantage of timing and price as soon as you are ready to leave the workplace. A broker that specializes in the transportation industry can provide an accurate business valuation and offer the tools you need to enhance value prior to putting your business on the market.
Once upon a time, being a business owner meant eventually passing ownership of your company to a son or daughter. Today, less than one-third of businesses are expected to stay in the family. But a knowledgeable brokerage company can help connect you with the right buyer so that your business can live on in capable hands, while you enjoy the profits of your sale during a comfortable retirement.
Buying from Boomers
For those thinking of buying a limousine business, the options are about to get a whole lot wider. Business statistics show that more than 40 percent of companies will change hands in the next five years, inevitably driving down demand and sales prices. Sometimes sellers plan to get out of business because of unfortunate circumstances like divorce or litigation, issues that may affect the stability of their brand. But many Baby Boomers have strong, successful limousine businesses – the only factor pushing them out of the marketplace is their age.
If you’ve been hesitant to grow through acquisition, there may never be a better time to look into the benefits of buying an already-established, healthy business. Unlike starting a new venture or growing your business organically, you may not need to worry about purchasing new limousine insurance or launching a from-scratch marketing campaign to woo new clients. Usually those tasks have already been accomplished and are built into the purchase price. New businesses have less than a 10 percent chance of surviving a decade, according to the small business administration. When you buy an existing business, the previous owner has already taken on most of the hard work and risk for you. As a buyer, your job is simply to steer the business in the right direction and reap future profits.