Identify Specialists

Step-by-Step Guide

Set Goals

Establish a Timeline

Identify Advisors

Organize your Finances

Calculate Pharmacy Value

Prepare For Transfer

Use care in choosing your ownership specialists.

Chances are that you will sell only one, maybe two pharmacies during your career. Ensuring that you have the best counsel and advice can’t be overstated. While the accountant and attorney you work with on the day-to-day business of running your pharmacy may be excellent, you need to objectively evaluate if they are your best resources and counsel in the event of a sale. There are nuances that specialized professionals can bring you as you sell a retail business. Your decision could impact your financial future.

You also need to recognize that some of the decisions that you will be making during the ownership transfer process are going to be emotional ones. For this reason, having a good team of trusted specialists to support and guide you can be important. While family members and friends are valuable, at the end of the day, you will want to rely on the professional judgment of experts to guide you in one of the most important decisions you will ever make.

While you don’t want to be a pessimist, you will want your team of specialists to have the experience of knowing what can go wrong with the transaction and exactly how to protect you from that. You need attorneys, accountants, and other ownership specialists who have the experience to ensure that you and your family are safe, no matter what happens to the pharmacy once you no longer are in control.

Understanding the best time to sell your pharmacy also is important. You never want to sell because you have to sell — a fire sale may not bring you the best price or the best new owner. Nor will it help to set your pharmacy off on good footing under new ownership. Like anything, there are tricks to the trade that experts can help you with, such as don’t sell near a holiday.