Are you close to retirement and want to sell your clinic before you do? Are you tired of your career path and want to enter a new one? Do you want to move somewhere else and start a new clinic there? Whatever your reason may be, arriving at the huge decision to sell your clinic takes a lot of time. But when you are finally ready to jump over the fence, there are still a lot of factors to consider before you sell your clinic and get the best results possible.
With those factors in mind, here are the signs it may be the perfect time to sell your clinic:
1. You are emotionally and mentally ready
Even if you have already made your decision to sell the clinic, you may still not be emotionally or mentally ready to part from it. You have likely been working in your clinic for many years, have staff that you’ve known for a very long time. It signifies your hard work; years, if not decades, of experiences. Are you emotionally distant enough to part with your clinic without your emotions clouding your judgment?
If the answer is ‘no’, take time to emotionally distance yourself from your clinic to see it more objectively. Once you are emotionally and mentally ready to let go, it could be the right time to sell.
2. You have built equity
Having built a good sum of equity on your clinic is one of the first signs that you shouldlook for before selling. If you have been gaining steady revenue throughout the years, have a good patient database, and have trained good medical and admin staff, you will most likely have a good amount of goodwill equity.
Good equity is also one of the first financial factors that acquisition companies consider. For instance, if you’re planning to sell your audiology practice to a company that buys clinics under that specialization, having built equity on your clinic significantly increases your chances of a good deal.
3. You are financially ready
Even if you have goodwill equity on your clinic (and savings in the bank from working there), you still have to consider the costs of selling your practice, including broker fees, staff entitlements, and solicitor costs, among many others. Expect that some of your equity will be consumed by these various fees and costs, if that doesn’t sit right with you, it may not be the right time to sell yet.
Furthermore, if you are retiring without the intention to practice again, it’s also crucial to consider your expenses post-sale. Will your pension be enough to cover your intended retirement lifestyle? Do you have enough savings in case of financial emergencies in the future?
How long will the proceeds from the sale last?
4. The practice is ready for sale
Your clinic needs to be presentable physically and internally, from the parking lot down to the financial statements. Buyers look for practices that are ready for selling without too many risk areas, so don’t give them a reason to low-ball their offers.
The more ready your practice is for a sale, the faster it will be to sell it. Apart from that, you are more likely to receive the best price you can get for your clinic.
5. You have a plan after the sale
If you are retiring after selling your clinic, what do you plan to do with all the free time that you will have? Are you going to continue practicing with limited hours? Or are you going straight to not having any work commitments anymore?
On the other hand, if you are going to enter a new career path, how do you plan to do it? Will you have to relocate to a new city or country? How will that career shift affect your lifestyle, particularly your finances?
A concrete post-sale plan is a must if you want to make your transition as easy as possible. Don’t sell your practice without even a semblance of an idea of what you want to do afterward. Many GPs make that mistake and turn regretful of their decision even if they have received a good sum for their clinic.
If you believe that you have already achieved all of these things, it’s time to start devising an exit plan, even if you don’t have prospective buyers yet. Otherwise, work on making these signs true for yourself and your practice to ensure that there are no bumps along the way or worse, regrets post-sale.
