If you have been running your business for years, you know every corner. But what does someone see who looks at it for the first time? An invitation to see your own business through someone else's eyes.

For many business owners, the thought of handing over their company is not an easy one. Over the years, often over decades, something has grown that goes far beyond an economic unit. It takes a great deal of resolve to think about stepping back. We have had many conversations and keep hearing the same thing: the topic gets postponed, decisions are put off. Why early contact between business owner and successor matters and how you gain room to act.

If you want to take over a business, you usually start thinking about figures, purchase prices and financing very early on. What easily fades into the background is the preparation for the first contact. Yet every succession begins right there. Business owners do not hand over an object, they hand over responsibility, established structures and often a life's work. These questions help you prepare in a way that allows trust to develop.

The question of a company's value is decisive for every succession. The average sale price in 2025 is around 499,000 euros, and expectations have risen by 34 per cent since 2019. Various methods exist for valuation: asset value, income value or industry-standard multiples. Online calculators from the IHK and SECO offer initial orientation but do not replace a professional valuation. Sellers should start early, prepare their figures carefully and keep their expectations realistic. Buyers need to know their financing limits and ask questions respectfully. The valuation only comes when the chemistry is right and both sides are fundamentally compatible.

The question of a company's value often divides buyers and sellers fundamentally. Sellers see 40 years of work, personal sacrifices and their life's work. Buyers see future earning power, modernisation needs and the question of affordability. If the figures come first and do not fit, the person behind them stays invisible. If the person comes first and the figures disappoint later, trust is damaged. Both perspectives are valid, but they need to come together from the start. The first step is not the valuation, but the encounter between people who check whether they are right for each other. Only when the chemistry is right and the broad parameters make sense is it worth talking about figures, valuations and purchase prices.

Taking over a business brings opportunities and challenges. You step into something that already exists: customers are there, employees know the processes, structures work. Balance sheets show you how the business is doing. But you need solid financing, must check for hidden risks and win over the team. Changing established structures takes time and sensitivity. Before a takeover, you need to analyse the figures, understand customer relationships and realistically assess investment needs. A business takeover is not a given, but with clear goals and thorough preparation it is a viable path.

Buying a business is a real alternative to starting from scratch. Yet it is talked about far too rarely. If you want to be self-employed, you usually think immediately of founding a startup. But a takeover often offers more security: customers are there, employees are there, processes are already running. You step in where others have built for years. Figures are available, the business is proven. You take on responsibility for something that has grown and learn from the predecessor. Yet this path is not easier than founding, it is different.