How do I sell a fabric, yarn or quilt shop?

Buyers will want evidence that the customer base will stay. A buyer wants to see that the community will stay. Your preparation has two parts: getting the physical shop into honest order, and writing down the relationships that you now carry in your head so a new owner can take them over.

Tidy the stock and sort the fixtures

Go through aged bolts and skeins and decide what to clear out before a buyer arrives. Sort the store samples, display pieces and fixtures, including any longarm quilting machine, into what is sold with the shop, what you keep and what is owned by someone else, such as a lender or lessor. A clear list prevents arguments close to closing.

Show the classes, teachers and community

Put the class calendar on paper: who teaches, what is taught, how classes are booked and what students buy. Say whether teachers are employees or independent. Describe your mailing list, social accounts, guild ties and regular events. Check what your list was collected for, and ask your lawyer what can be passed to a buyer before you share it.

Going business or stock and fixtures

A buyer of the going business takes the name, customers, classes, supplier accounts and usually the lease. A sale of stock and fixtures is simpler, but it ends the shop. Think about which you want before you speak to anyone. If a sale does not work out, the choice between selling and closing is covered in should I sell my business or close it.