So now you need to find a buyer. The first thing you should do is contact a professional, credible business consultant. He or she will confidentially assess the value of your business, give you options and find and screen the buyers.

You also want to get an idea of how "financeable" your business is. Why? Because in the real world, most buyers are looking for financing.

You know what kind of cash flow your business really produces and the benefits it provides to potential owners. You should also know how lenders will consider financing the purchase of your business. After all, the easier it can be financed, the more potential buyers will be attracted to it -- which could result in a more expeditious sell, with more net cash in your pocket.

There are many types of businesses. But for the purpose of this article, we are really talking about those business that are selling "goodwill" -- that is, selling a product or service and the customer base built with it. There may be some assets or equipment involved, but for the most part, it is the sale of what you have built with your hard work and efforts.

In this case, there are typically three options: cash sale, seller financing or US Small Business Administration financing. Traditional lending institutions usually will not provide a loan for a business simply because it has a lot of good will. They are looking for coverage. That does not mean they will not grant a loan for this type of business, but if they do, it will be based mainly on the financial strength of the borrower and what he or she is willing to pledge. Therefore, for the purpose of this article, we will discuss SBA financing, designed specifically for small businesses.

In order to determine if you business will qualify for SBA financing, let's review what the SBA considers small business:

**Independently owned & Operated

**A for profit company

**Manufacturing - Less than 500 employees

**Service and / or retail - annual sales up to $15 million

**General Construction - up to $17 million

**Special trades - average sales of 7 million.

In order to get you company pre-qualified for SBA financing, you will need to provide certain information. For some obvious reasons you may not want to give out detailed financial documents, but you will need to be prepared to give out a summary of the following:

**Business description

**Tax returns from the last two years

**Year to date P&L

**Balance Sheet

**Aging report for receivables and payables

**List of assets

**Customer list by size and tenure, if applicable (You do not need to disclose specific customer names but can indicate a number).

If you do not have the aforementioned information in order or are uncertain how to present it, a competent business broker can be a big help.

SBA financing will typically max out at 75-80 percent of the sales price of the business. The balance of funds will need to come from the buyer, seller financing or any combination of the three. The information that you provide will be used to determine the maximum potential financing.

Here are the two most important things that the lender will try to determine:

**Does the cash flow of the company from the past two years show the ability to service the proposed debt?

**Does the company show a consistent increase in revenues?

Of course, it is the whole picture that determines the feasibility of making a loan against the business, but as the old saying goes, cash is king. The length of time that it takes to collect receivables, the tenure of your customers and the ratios they lend to total company revenues are all important. But the lender really wants to know if the business can support the proposed debt.

After you have provided the necessary information to the mortgage broker or banker, he or she can determine a pre-approval in as little as 24 to 48 hours.

Once pre-approved, you will have a pretty solid idea of what kind of loan your business could support for a potential buyer. Of course, the actual loan commitment will be dependent upon receiving complete documentation of your company's financials and upon the borrower's ability to manage the business, among other things. Nevertheless, you have opened the doors to more buyers by taking a little time to set up the process in advance.

As with any decision, whether it be selling your business or getting it pre-approved for financing, do your homework and become comfortable with those whom you do business.

Sunshine Mortgage specializes in commercial and residential lending, servicing all of South Florida with offices in Naples and Fort Myers. Jim McCormack, head of commercial and small business loans at Sunshine Mortgage, has more than 25 years of experience in all facets of the lending and commercial real estate industry.