Be Patient and Realistic When Suitors Call

In my column this week at the Tennessean I talk about the exit process:

The formal process of selling a business usually starts with a letter of inquiry. The first time you get one, the temptation is to start counting all the money you think you are about to get.
But this stage is about as serious as a smile and a wink at a singles bar. About 90 percent of the time these inquiries go nowhere.