Originally Posted by eznight  I was just told that the family buiness will end at the 3rd generation. I know that it was a hard decision for my dad. I would like to help him to get the most possable from the assesets. He has a small screw machine shop. E Bay? Auction? |
Don't neglect the value of the "non-tangible" assets -- the customer list, etc.
Even if business is "down" in volume, there might be multiple people looking for a "small scale" business to buy -- so it might be possible to sell off a "part" of the business (i.e. some of the machinery along with the customer list & contracts, skilled loyal employees, and/or the company name [and its associate "good will"], etc.) -- and then sell off the remaining (excess) equipment separately.
There are even people (who typically already own other businesses, and have ready reserves of cash) who look at "down economies" as the time to buy up various small businesses, expecting to endure the downturn and profit from them later on (either by integrating them into their other businesses and/or as viable entities in themselves when the economy picks up again).