What Do I Do if No One Wants to Buy My Business?

Finding out that no one wants to purchase your business is an unwelcome dose of reality for many small business owners. But you really do have several options other than simply closing the doors and taking a loss on your business. These options, however, depend largely on whether you're set on selling the business at a specific time or for a specific price. They include:

• Going out of business sale. If you own a retail store, going out of business sales are a good way to recoup at least part of your losses. Because most retail operations mark up their products from 10 percent to as much as 75 percent, a going out of business sale will almost always net you at least the cost of your inventory.
• Sell off pieces rather than the whole. Take a hard look at your business. Can you sell off portions of your business - or its assets - if you can't sell the whole operation? For example, if no one wants to purchase your mail order business, can you sell your mailing list to a competitor? Are they also interested in your inventory? Check out A Guide to Business Asset Liquidation for advice on this topic.
• Retrench and try again in a predetermined amount of time. Take a hard look at the business and see whether you're able — or willing — to turn it around. Can you modify your product or service — or parts of them — to make your operation more attractive to buyers (or to your potential customers)? Do you just need a market boost? Think about spending some money on a marketing campaign to get your name out there. Even if publicity doesn't increase your sales, the resulting boost in name recognition may make it easier to sell the business. At the very least, read Top 10 Mistakes Made When Selling a Business for advice.