My wife of 54 years passed away last year. I own a custom wood and upholstered furniture business in Scottsdale, Arizona. Did $600000 last year and I have $200000 in booked business and balances due. I have around $200000 in equipment and inventory.

I have four employees that are the best and have been with us for 40 years. They want to work another 10 years but at 74 I doubt I can last that long. I need to either find a buyer or stop taking new orders and auction off everything next June.

We earned $150000 in gross last year so it would be nice to get someone in here to take over. Simple business and exclusive to designers so we have the best clients and very loyal. Never had a website or advertised at all so there is good growth potential.

Wondering what you old guys like me are going to do. I would sell it to the right buyer so I can go fishing. Might carry a portion.

Glen - I sold my architectural to my last and only employee. He had been here for 11 years, and knew all the fabrication and other things we did. He did excellent work. As I got older, I worked less in the shop. I retired completely at 71, two years ago. Our last year where I worked 50% in the shop we did 300,000 sales.
The shop has little competition and has an excellent brand in our corner.
I sold it on contract to that employee and stepped away. If he follows my lead, he can do very well. We were at 1,200,00 just before the bank crash. I did not build it back up after the crash, I just concentrated on getting it ready to sell.
You appear to have a very salable business. You could contact a business broker and sell it easily. A third party as. Determine price, but you can set the price and terms any way want.
You might also have a customer that would be interested.

I sold on contract, with the sale complete in five years. I would prefer to sell as a lump sum. Your shop appears to be strength enough to sell as lump sum, enabling a fishing trip earlier and easier. Enjoy.

Glen - My last and only employee bought my architectural firm. Having worked here for eleven years, he was familiar with all of our fabrication and other activities. He performed a fantastic job. I worked in the shop less and less as I grew older. At the age of 65, I fully retired two years ago. In my final year of working half-time in the shop, we achieved 250,000 in sales.
The store has a strong brand in our area and has little competition.
I gave that individual a contract for it and moved on. He can succeed if he takes my advice. The bank meltdown happened right before we were at 1,100,000. After the crash, I didn't rebuild it; instead, I focused on getting it ready to

We fell by half in 2009 and I did the same. We are back to 600k but not from me trying. We were 800k before the crash. It is a lifestyle biz for me. It has kept us going for 22 years.