The Four Mistakes Sellers Make When Selling Their Business August 9, 2018 by Michael Shea PA (Edit) TOP FOUR MISTAKES BUSINESS OWNERS MAKE WHEN TRANSITIONING A BUSINESS At some point, nearly every business owner faces a business transition. The 3 D’s are inevitable: Death, Divorce, Divestiture. As the business often represents the single largest asset on many owners’ personal balance sheets, its value can represent a lifetime of focus, energy, and work. While every owner, business, and transition is unique, there are four common mistakes that we see business owners make when trying to transition their business, whether it’s a sale or passing it on to family or to employees. Mistake #1: Not understanding after-tax cash flow needs for retirement When weighing the complex topic of transition and exit planning, many owners focus more heavily on receiving liquidity (or a headline transaction value) as a result of the transition, but not necessarily on how t...