After building up and managing a business, you might be able to sell it for a considerable profit. However, what to do after you sell your business could be one of the most controversial aspects you will have to deal with.
It is an emotional deal because you have managed your online business after all the years. Now, It is not yours anymore. You will have to change your focus to other things, like your family and hobbies.
This article focusses on the steps and methods you can take to protect and secure the funds you gained from selling your business.
Transition Options
Depending on the transition deal you have reached with the buyer, your involvement with the online business might be temporary. However, selling your online business doesn’t always mean walking away.
The level at which you will still be involved during the transition process can range from a month to a few years. It all depends on you and the new owner.
Your level of involvement and length of participation during the transition period can affect your income and financial well-being. Allowances and remuneration for being an employee or consultant can be just what you need.
You and the new owner can even come to an agreement where you retain shares in the business. That will allow you to be in a favorable position to sell your shares later on at an even higher profit if the business keeps on growing. This is also a great incentive for a potential buyer because if you intend to still be involved, this lessens the risk for a new buyer.
The transition deal must be a well-thought-through process seeing that it can have future financial implications. On the other hand, involvement in the company can be what you might need to keep you occupied.
What Can You Do With the Money After the Sale?
You could now have the most significant influx of funds of your whole working life, and the question is, what are you going to do with it? A lot of entrepreneurs selling their businesses end up without money after a few years. Planning how to use that money to ensure an income for life is essential if you don’t start another online business.
A few crucial things to do before and after the sale are to proactively protect proceeds, minimize taxes, and do the necessary planning to ensure you and your family’s financial future.
When you sell your online business, it is essential to revise financial planning that was in place before the sale to ensure that it will meet your needs, given the new circumstances after the sale.
How to Protect the Proceeds
Protecting the proceeds from selling your business is an essential step you should take to ensure future financial well-being.
There are three steps in which you can protect the proceeds of your lifelong commitment to building up your online business.
1. Diversification of Your Holdings
During the life of your online business, all the money was tied up in one business. Now it is time to diversify your earnings from the sale, into other investments to spread the risk. Your specific diversification plan will be based on factors like your other assets, amount of proceeds, and your age. An experienced financial planner can assist you in the best way to proceed.
2. Hedge Investments
If you own previously bought stock or stock from the sale, it will be in your best interest to hedge the stock, or diversify your portfolio to spread risk. Not hedging the stock against possible plummeting in the future might leave you in a bad situation if the stock does plummet due to market declines. The possibility of this happening is good and has left a lot of people in despair. Therefore, it is advisable to get help from a knowledgeable stockbroker or financial planner even before the sale becomes a reality.
3. Review Liability Protection
This is the right time to review your liability exposure. With the add-on of the money generated through the sale, you are now open to people who want to lay their hands on your assets. Analyze your liability with any other assets you own and try to minimize or eliminate the possibility of any harm.
Minimize Taxes on the Sale
The sale of your business and the money you receive will mean that taxes need to be minimized. You can do this in different ways.
1. Structure the Sale to Benefit You
Getting stock as partial payment for your online business means that you can receive the stock tax-free if you structure the deal in the right way.
To ensure proper tax treatment and the accompanying benefits, we want to advise you to employ the services of an experienced corporate tax lawyer.
2. Seek to Get Capital Gains Treatment
Capital gains on the selling of stock are treated much more tax-friendly than ordinary income tax treatment.
Consult a tax lawyer on the most beneficial payment structure for your situation. For example, it might be more feasible to increase the sale price instead of taking a monthly payment for consulting fees when an extended transition is in place.
3. Consider Taking a Loss on Other Investments
You can sell a losing venture or lose some stocks before year-end to offset the taxes you will have to pay on selling your business.
4. Consider Tax-Free Investments
Tax-free investments are not high-paying, but they are safe and tax-free, especially with government and municipal investments. Doing this for part of your investment portfolio is beneficial, especially if you are in the higher income group.
5. Consider Giving Gifts
Depending on your countries laws, you are allowed to give away a certain amount as tax-free gifts. You can divide that by two, seeing that your spouse can offer the same gift. You are entitled to give even more if you choose the lifetime amount which is allocated. This is law in the United States, and other countries might have similar allowances.
6. Maximize Your IRA or Other Retirement Benefits
This is a legitimate way of reducing taxes for the year you do it in, and it might be the same in other countries. Make sure that you maximize this with any retirement options you might have.
7. Pay Your State or Local Taxes in Advance
You can pay state and local municipality taxes in advance. That will give you lower taxable earnings for this year, but you must be sure that you won’t fall into a higher tax bracket the following year.
8. Pay Your Mortgage in Advance
By paying your January 1 mortgage before the end of December, you can have an additional deduction for interest paid. Just remember to add the interest amount to the amount paid to your lender. This is according to United States tax rules, but if you are in another country, the same tax privileges may be in place.
9. Shift Income to the Following Year
If you are concerned about the current year regarding taxes, you can ask for the payment in the next year to minimize your income during the current year. Just make sure that that won’t push you into a higher tax bracket for the coming year.
Plan, the Financial Future of Your Family
After you have sold your business and are planning to retire or just become less active, you are still responsible for your family’s financial well-being. Taking care of these points will ensure that they are well looked after.
Ensure That Your Will is Up-to-Date
Ensure that your will is in line with your current investment portfolio and the asset you possess.
Draw Up a Living Will
A living will stipulate medical and healthcare issues when you are on a life support system. Remember to name a power of attorney in conjunction with a living will.
Review Beneficiaries
Ensure the beneficiaries in your will and life insurance policies are up to date with changes in the family.
Set Up Trust Funds
To be sure that your wishes are being adhered to in the event of your death, it is good to set up a trust, and it will also shorten the lengthy probate process.
Legal Advice
When it comes to dealing with the profits of your online business, acquiring legal guidance and advice is recommended. There are many online legal services out there that can offer you advice. Our top recommendations are:
Accounting Advice
You might not have a strong financial background or maybe you just don't have the time, but having your accounting in order is important. If you need someone to help you calculate the profit and tax for your business, you can try Bench. They offer monthly bookkeeping services to online business owners who are up-to-date with their bookkeeping and those who are behind. Their Bench Tax program takes care of your bookkeeping, tax preparation, and tax filing.
Recommendations – Our Top Choices for Selling Your Online Business
If you decide to sell a website, you want to make sure everything is by the book and the process is effortless. That’s why we’ve assembled a list of the industry’s leading platforms to help you sell you’re your online business.
Empire Flippers
Empire Flippers focuses on helping individuals buy and sell online businesses. They are considered the number 1 “curated marketplace for buying and selling established businesses.” Founded in 2013 by Joe Magnotti (CEO) and Justin Cooke (CMO), and have sold over $93,000,000 worth of online businesses.
FE International
FE International is presently the eighth fastest-growing financial services company in the U.S. They provide a wide range of services and also specialize in selling online businesses.
Flippa
Flippa is an online business-for-sale marketplace. It’s a convenient way for buyers and sellers to meet and negotiate.
Conclusion
This article goes some way to explain what to do after you sell your business to protect the funds you earned from the sale.
All precautions should be taken to ensure your financial well-being after you sell. We strongly suggest that you seek both financial and legal advice to suit your own situation and business.
