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How do you sell your business when you ARE the business

2 points by boznz ↗ HN
I wrote a production system for a small winery 12 years ago which was well received and the software has been evolving to cover changes in the industry, however the winery has since grown to be the biggest in the country, and last month they have just bought another company with 3 more wineries and want to install the software in these too.

Despite my insistence they build their own development team or make succession plans they have tested the market rejected all other options and done neither. I am a few years off retirement and find myself in a dilemma that I don't need the money but can no longer work the crazy hours this sometimes needs, also due to the complexity of the system I dont have time to hire/manage other staff, but I also cant let the winery down!

So I was thinking of selling/partnering up with a bigger company but how do you sell your business when you are the business ?

3 comments

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MauranKilom
What would happen if you were hit (and killed) by a bus tomorrow?

Have them figure out the answer to that. If they don't consider it a serious threat to their business, then you shouldn't worry about "letting them down". If they do consider it a serious threat (even if only long-term)... Well, maybe that question could get the right person in that company move things in the right direction. Preferably a direction that does not involve tying you down in a safe room somewhere.

Alternatively, keep raising your price month by month until retirement. Even if you don't care about the money, they will at some point.

gus_massa
Raise your price until you can hire other developer. (Remember to include not only the pocket salary, but also taxes, sick days, holidays and whatever is necessary, and add some extra money for you for the babysitting work).

Are there any parts that are easy to split? Try to split the work, even if you are the only one doing it. It's easy to give to the new person a smaller task later.

I don't understand why you are worming so many hours. After a few years, the software should be quite stable.

Can some part be split, get a horrible^W fancy UI and used by some of the employees?

georgediaz
I'd be interested in exploring the possibility of partnering up with you if you were interested OP. I have a small team working with a number of clients already, but this sounds like it could be pretty interesting.