Legal Question in Business Law in Tennessee

Re: Sale of business

Sure, you can keep your name. But will the purchasers pay you as much? You all can do whatever you wish. Make an appointment with someone in your zipcode and discuss obtaining custom paperwork. Beth Brooks

Re: Sale of business

Whether a purchaser will consider buying your business without the name depends largely on what type of business it is. Most small businesses'(especially service businesses) value is in the goodwill the business has generated and the fame of its tradenames and trademarks. Unless you specifically negoitate continued use of the tradename a sale of the entire business will result in a sale of the tradename and trademarks.

One way to accomplish your goal would be to sell only certain assets of the business such as fixtures, accounts receivable, and customer lists. Keep in mind that even in this case the purchaser may insist on a non-competition clause to keep you out of the marketplace for a specific period of time. Those clauses are hard to enforce against a former employee, but are very easy to enforce against a seller of a business becuase the seller gets value for the business.

Business sales are very complex transactions. You should be represented by an attorney to help you consider the numerous tactics available to you to get the maximum value for your business. Good luck.