BizQuest is a business for sale marketplace and not truly a business broker. Even so, you can still sell your business using BizQuest. With its great turnaround time, and the ability to allow sellers to close deals quickly, many clients claim they would love to work with this site again. We will look at this in-depth in our BizQuest review.
If you have decided that it is time to exit your brick and mortar business then you will need to find someone to help you sell. There are many different ways to do this.
However, a reputable sales advertising site can help you get the exposure you need. Bringing in a large pool of potential buyers is what is needed.
There are also websites that can also help you find business broker. Brokers can help you with the finer details of the sale.
With so many companies out there how do you know if they are reputable? That is why we did some research and wrote this BizQuest review
Better Alternatives to BizQuest
As buyers and sellers of business ourselves, we’ve had the best sale valuation and customer service from the following broker.
Overview of BizQuest
BizQuest bills itself as the “original business for sale website.” Technically speaking this is true.
They were established first. Founded in 1994 they started helping businesses find a qualified pool of buyers for their businesses.
Since they have been around for more than 30 years they have a large amount of experience in this field.
BizQuest does not actually have a staff of brokers. They are more like a listing website. You can list your business yourself.
According to the website listing your business can take ten minutes or less. This is not a lot of time. But it isn’t free.
They also have a way for brokers to be listed so that sellers and buyers can find someone to help them.
BizQuest doesn’t endorse any of these brokers so make sure you do your research before committing.
Buyers can simply search in the search bar for a business that they might like to buy. If something catches their eye they can contact the seller.
While the company doesn’t seem to have any awards there aren’t that many bad reviews either.
Types of Businesses BizQuest Sells
BizQuest seems to sell a little bit of everything.
Once you go to their website you will see a search bar. You can enter your criteria and location to pull up the businesses that match.
They allow the listing of many different types of businesses regardless of the value.
Businesses
BizQuest lists traditional brick and mortar businesses. Small businesses that only have one location can be listed easily.
Potential buyers can search for traditional businesses by specifying that they don’t want only assets or franchises.
Franchises
Franchise opportunities tend to be trendy on the market because the business is pretty much put together with a successful model.
The names are already a household name, for the most part. The marketing products are also usually done as far as graphics and slogans.
There are many people that are looking to invest in a franchise and BizQuest can help them find the right one.
Anyone can get on their website and search for different franchise opportunities in their area.
Asset-Only
There are business owners that don’t want to sell the entity of the business. That is the legal holdings on the company.
In this case, the sale would be simply an asset sale. The owners may sell the recipes, the building, the stock, or the client list to the buyer.
But the previous owner still has the legal standing as the owner of the business name.
BizQuest allows owners to list assets only as opportunities for buyers. The buyers that are interested can easily search and find what they are looking for.
If it is available, that is.
Start-up Businesses
Start-ups are sometimes hard to sell. They may also be hard to find. But BizQuest has a whole section dedicated to start-ups.
A start-up is actually a great opportunity for an investor. Getting an inexpensive business that is already in the beginning stages is better than starting from scratch.
Buying a start-up on BizQuest could be resold once it is in better standing or the buyer could just keep and manage the business.
If it is managed properly either way will be profitable. Finding websites that actively sell start-up businesses is not easy.
These websites tend to want to stay away from those. They don’t sell for high prices and since a lot of companies operate on the commission they reject the listings.
BizQuest is not like that. They operate differently so they list these young businesses.
Real Estate
BizQuest also lists real estate. We aren’t talking about houses or land.
What BizQuest lists are the buildings that used to house businesses. When a business goes under or moves the building is usually left empty.
Oftentimes the business owner did not own the building. They simply lease the building.
In the cases of the owner who also owned the building, they will need a place to market that.
They can also list the building and the business. This would be listed under real estate.
There are listings on the BizQuest site for money making houses. These are homes that have been vacation rentals.
There are also restaurant buildings as well as commercial real estate for development.
BizQuest really does have many options when it comes to what can be listed and sold.
Broker Services
One thing that BizQuest offers that some other sites don’t is Broker Works. This is a service that lets brokers list themselves.
There are many business owners and buyers that would feel better about the process if they employed a broker.
However, it may be hard to find a reputable broker. BizQuest saw this need and filled the space.
Brokers and list their business information on the site. Brokers do have to pay monthly to have a listing on this portion of the site.
To join Broker Works they have to pay at least $99.95 a month. That is the lowest plan.
This is a precaution to ensure that only serious brokers list. However, there is no guarantee.
BizQuest even says that they do not recommend anyone and can not be held responsible for any misconduct.
BizQuest Valuation Process
Because BizQuest operates differently than some of the other business for sale sites out there, they don’t really have a valuation process.
That is to say that they won’t tell you what your business is worth.
This, as the seller, is your responsibility. Before listing your business you should have everything in order.
This includes having an accurate valuation of your business. You can hire an expert to do this for you.
BizQuest is not a brokerage firm which is why they don’t do a valuation for those listed on their site.
Sales Process
The sales process with BizQuest is not as long and complicated as it is with some websites. Since this is basically a listing site the process is short.
As far as how BizQuest is involved the sales process is rather simple. This could be good or bad.
Pick a Plan
The first step to selling your business on BizQuest is to get on their website and choose a plan. They have two different options.
The first option is the basic plan. And they mean basic when they say it.
With the basic plan, you can only list one picture of your business on your listing. This is not always the best way to attract buyers.
With this plan, you also get real-time lead delivery and stats. That is all you get. The cost is $59.95 per month.
But if you are serious about selling your business the second plan might be a wise investment.
This plan is $30 a month more but comes with a ton of perks.
The seller gets prominent ad placement. This ensures that the ad is seen by more people.
There is also the ability to add multiple photos and a video to the listing. That alone could mean the difference between selling the business or it sitting for months.
They also include a selling guide with helpful tips and information. With the second option, BizQuest also sends you a list of buyers that might be interested in your business.
Create Your Ad
Once you have decided which plan to invest in you will need to make your ad. You need to make sure that the ad is appealing.
This will be the first thing a potential buyer sees about your business. If you don’t have enough information then you will likely not have many buyers.
Contact Potential Buyers
When your listing is live potential buyers will start emailing you and reaching out. This will be exciting. Also overwhelming.
When you have a good pool of buyers you can start contacting them back.
This will help you gauge interest in your business. However, once the sale starts BizQuest is not involved.
You will need to make sure you know what steps to take to finish the sales process. This may mean engaging an attorney or a broker to help.
Making sure all of the information and paperwork is in order will be helpful to sell without incident.
BizQuest Success Rates
When looking at the BizQuest website there was nothing on it about the success rate. They don’t talk about how many businesses exactly have sold or bought businesses through them.
They do say that they have “played a part in the sale of hundreds of thousands of businesses.”
Because they don’t charge a commission they don’t take credit for the sale. It isn’t their sale.
Owners simply use the website to list their business.
The website does talk a little bit about Broker Works. On the site, it says that Broker Works is #1 in satisfaction.
Those business owners and potential buyers that use the BizQuest Broker Works program to find a broker have been happy with the results.
Fees Charged By BizQuest to Sell a Business
The great thing about BizQuest is the lack of fees.
Often business for sale websites will charge a commission fee when the business sells. This can take a chunk out of your profit.
BizQuest isn’t like this. The only thing they charge is the monthly fee to keep your ad listed.
If the business sells in a month or you find a big enough pool of buyers, you can take the ad down. All you have paid is the one month of listing.
Now if you hire a broker from the site, you will pay a broker fee to the broker. But BizQuest doesn’t get any of that money.
Pros and Cons of Using BizQuest
Since there are several ways that you can sell your business it is helpful to look at the pros and cons associated with each way. But for this review, we are only going to look at the pros and cons of using BizQuest.
Pros
With business for sale websites, they all can look different. For BizQuest the company is hands-off but they do have their perks.
There are just as many pros as cons so you will need to make a personal decision to list with them or not.
- No fees or commission
- You can list month to month
- You can list any type of business regardless of value or age
Cons
The cons are really only cons to those that are first time sellers. It may be overwhelming to list a business on BizQuest if you don’t know how to sell a business.
If you choose to list with BizQuest, it would be wise to research how to sell a business in your state first.
- Only a listing service
- No valuation process
- You are on your own with the sale
- These types of business for sale marketplaces do not leverage the expertise of a business broker.
- May not get as much for your business as you would using a business broker.
Conclusion And Verdict
When deciding to sell your brick and mortar business you may not know where to start. Finding potential buyers can seem overwhelming but listing your business on Craigslist is not an option.
That is why we wrote this BizQuest Review. We want to help business owners that are ready for an exit strategy find a reputable listing site.
BizQuest has a lot of things going for it. We like many things about this business for sale website but there are things that give us pause.
We do like that there are no fees other than what is charged monthly to list your business. BizQuest doesn’t take any large commissions from the sale.
This is a good thing for the seller. However, with that comes no support with the sale. The owner is on their own unless they have hired a broker or attorney.
If the owner has sold businesses before they will be okay but a first-time seller may be overwhelmed.
We also like that the business has been around for more than 30 years. This gives credibility and experience.
They can also help buyers and sellers find a broker through broker works. But since brokers pay for their listing just like sellers, there are going to be some dishonest brokers.
You have to do your research and due diligence to make sure you get a reputable broker.
Another thing that was a plus for us was the fact that any business can be listed. It doesn’t matter the age or valuation of the business.
Since it is a listing site and not a commission-based business anyone can list a business. It is also helpful that you can list your business month to month.
Not committing to a broker for a contract period is positive. But we don’t like that sellers don’t get any support from BizQuest. Unless you have a listing problem they can’t help you.
Verdict
The pros and cons of BizQuest are pretty evenly matched. But even with that, we still like this business.
If we were buying or selling a business we would consider using BizQuest. While definitely not our first choice to sell a business, they still may be a good option for some.
However, as stated above, using a site like BizQuest may not allow you to get as much for your business as you would using the expertise of a business broker.
