Should I Sell My Gas Station?

By: BuyTradeBiz.com

The decision to put up a business for sale is one that can sometimes involve weighing a good deal of pros and cons.  After all, whether you bought the business from another party or started it from the ground up, your business is important to you.  However there are times when the decision to put up your gas station for sale can become remarkably simple. For example, perhaps you have been offered a dream price or maybe you’ve simply had enough.  Other considerations could be that its time to retire, your business is slowly going under or you have another even better business opportunity lurking in the wings.  Regardless of why you decide to sell, the time may come when you have to do just that.

Do You Still Feel Motivated?

If you no longer feel motivated to work on a business, then it certainly may be time to sell.  Lots of people are looking for gas stations for sale and, as a result, you might just have an easy time making the sale. When people are thinking about businesses for sale, one of the top candidates that pop into the minds of many people is that of a gas station.  Gas stations are so ubiquitous in our society for they are the very heart and soul of modern transportation.  It is an understatement to state that gas stations are indispensable in modern life.

While gas stations play an important role to society, you may not feel as motivated to keep your gas station business going.  Thus, you may feel that its time to sell a gas station.  If your motivation isn’t there, you simply won’t be as focused, and this can potentially be very problematic if you are an owner-operator or the gas station makes up the bulk of your income.  Thus, stepping back and deciding whether or not you want to keep your gas station is key.

How Do You Feel About Long Term Prospects?

A big part of evaluating whether or not to put up your gas station for sale centers on what you believe your long-term prospects to be.  If you feel that you are in a location that is destined to only enjoy ever growing levels of traffic and you are not in a cash crunch, then keeping your gas station might be the right move.  On the flip side of the coin, if you feel that the long term prospects for the region in which your gas station is located are less than stellar, then maybe selling is your best move.  Analyzing the situation may take some work and maybe even some expert advice, but if you want to be fairly confident and resolute when you list your gas station in the businesses for sale section, then this is something you will need to contemplate.

Knowing What Comes Next

Before you decide its time to put that Business for Sale sign in the window, it’s important that you have some idea of your next step.  Will you be starting a new business or buying another business?  How much profit will you be walking away with?  What is your minimum price?  These are some of the critical questions that you should ask before taking the jump.  If you carefully analyze your intentions and your potential outcomes ahead of time, you will be in the best situation once your business is sold.

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No one we know of has the crystal ball to tell us precisely when the economy is going to bounce back for business owners and consumers. Times like these lead many people to take matters into their own hands, and the good news is that there are business opportunities out there and a consumer base to go with it.

 If you want to hit the ground fast and hard you might want to go in the direction of buying an established business, one with a proven track record of course. Less risk is typically involved in buying a business that already exists. Reasons for this are: a profit-loss sheet is already active, live and present and it should clearly show positive cash flow and profits; customers and prospects exist and perceptions are in place; trained employees are familiar with day-to-day procedures and likely ready to help. If working, trusted employees and a working system are already in place you are good to go. There certainly may be some initial tweaks and changes in that you have your own way of doing things, are familiar with the concept and can bring new ideas, and may want to add a right-hand person(s) that you have worked with in the past.

 Different types of business models carry different commitment levels. We will overview two— websites for sale, restaurants for sale—going from less commitment to more commitment:

 Buying a website business can be rewarding if you are in the right market for you, your passion, your background in management and understanding of technology and distribution models. Almost any business, either selling a product or service or combination, can go online. But here we are talking about an established or premium website (both with vastly different cost and time commitments). If you are interested in primarily being the principal/owner of the business who is more savvy with financials and marketing, then you will need to find the technology expertise and hire that person on your team right away. When you’re ready to buy the web business, you need to communicate with the seller and get the business plan for the site, including how they attain leads, customer traffic numbers, partnering opportunities, advertising models, proof of income/revenues (monthly/yearly); ask and get answers to questions that are not in the plan. 

 If you are buying a restaurant, be sure you are ready to commit big to the love of food, people and service on all fronts, from back-of-the-house operations to front-of-the-house cosmetics and ambience. This can be a fun family commitment if other familial partners are interested, qualified and involved. Business valuation, again, and its potential down the road, is the first step to saying “yes”. In the restaurant space, you have no shortage of choices, including independents, fine dining, family/casual, quick-service, bakery/cafés, simple hot dog stands and pizza places, among others. You can also collaborate to create a website and printed catalog that offers your most famous restaurant items and merchandise that can safely be shipped to your growing customer base.

As of June 15th the SBA has taken steps to help small business owners who have been hit hard during this economic crisis. According to The Business Review “The SBA began accepting applications for emergency bridge loans of up to $35,000. Small businesses can use these loans, which were created by the economic stimulus bill, to make up to six months of payments on existing debt.” The SBA will allow a year, after the last disbursement, before loan payment begin, giving small business owners the small breather, some desperately need