In July 2022, my first year as a business broker, I started talking with owners in the Greater Sacramento area who were thinking about selling. By the end of that year, I'd had meaningful conversations with 25 of them. This year, I went back through my notes and researched each of those businesses to find out what happened.
Six sold. One of them sold at full market value, and I represented that owner. Eight are gone. Some closed, and others were shut down after the owner passed away. Eight are still operating, and several of them are still run by the owner who wanted to sell in 2022.
When I looked at why so few of these businesses sold, the same thing happened in most of them. The owner put off the decision until something else made it for them, whether that was a health problem, a partner dispute, or burnout. That's a big part of why many businesses don't sell.
What happened to the 25 businesses
Here is where the 25 businesses stand today:
Sold: 6
Closed without a sale: 6
Owner died before a sale: 2
Still operating: 8
Could not confirm: 3
To find out, I went through my own notes and email, state business filings, auto repair license records, and Google and Yelp listings. I describe each business by industry only, so none of them can be identified.