Write what continuity means to you
List the features of the business you hope to preserve. They might include the name customers recognize, the local premises, service habits, or the knowledge held by a small group of people. Then separate your priorities from assumptions about what a buyer would do. A priority creates a discussion; an assumption can conceal an unanswered question.
Describe roles without disclosing private personnel details
Create a high-level map of who handles purchasing, quoting, delivery, technical questions, and customer exceptions. Use roles in an initial summary. There is no need to place employee names, compensation, health information, or personnel files into a general buyer introduction. Your advisers can help determine what additional information is relevant at a later stage.
Ask questions a buyer can answer specifically
Use questions that reveal the proposed operating plan and its open points. Keep the answers with the date and the person who provided them.
- Who would make day-to-day decisions after an acquisition?
- What role would you expect the current owner to have, and for how long?
- What would you need to understand before proposing changes?
- How would a communication plan for the team be developed?
- Which points are intentions today, and which could be addressed in agreed terms?
Make your own role part of the conversation
A fictional janitorial-supply owner might be comfortable helping with supplier introductions but want to stop dispatching deliveries every morning. “Stay involved for a while” would leave that distinction unclear. Write the tasks you would consider, the availability you have in mind, and what you would want to hand over. Any actual responsibilities, compensation, duration, or restrictions would need to be worked through with your advisers and the other party.
Agree on communication before making announcements
A sale discussion is not an agreed transaction. Work with your advisers on what to say, to whom, and when. Ask the potential buyer how communication would be coordinated if discussions progress. Old Growth welcomes these questions as a prospective acquirer. No general website statement can establish the commitments for an individual business.
ONE USEFUL NEXT STEP
Write three team or continuity priorities. Beside each, add the question you would ask a buyer and what a useful answer would explain.
Old Growth is a prospective acquirer focused on the Southeast U.S. These general preparation prompts do not provide independent seller representation, a valuation, or personalized legal, tax, or financial advice.
