<prompt> Human: HelloI am the sole beneficiary of my fathers assets and he is unfortunately going to pass away this spring from liver cancer.He is the founder and president of a boutique hotel brokerage firm that has been very successful. Right before he was diagnosed, he hired a private contractor to work as an additional salesperson. He also hired an administrative assistant.He leases an office near our home. There is no debt on the company, but earning have stalled over the past year or so because of a the overhead of the office and new hires initially intended to expand the company and b you cant run a business when youre dying of cancer.This company means everything to my father, and I dont know how I can help him. Im not a licensed real estate broker, I have no experience in the industry Im 23, but Im interested in doing this for a living. Currently I work in financial services, my other career interest is to be a financial planner.His one dying wish is to make sure his business is wrapped up and he needs help closing it. Is it best to sell it? Close it? Does anyone have any kind of insight or experience? Thank you all for your time.Edits: Spelling as well as adding more detail:First of all Im blown away by the response this got. So much of it is valuable.It seems important to mention I am a female. Trust me, I understand the hotel brokerage industry environment has a strong flavor of racism although its quite diverse and sexism. Theres no way to say this without sounding vapid or conceited, but I was graced with good genes and am memorably attractive: long red curly hair, blue eyes, six feet tall and athletic build. I know full well you cant get successful on looks alone, and my real strength is in my work ethic and mind. But Id be foolish to think my looks are not an advantage; after accompanying my father to a few industry conferences, its apparent that they are an asset. At least in being memorable and making initial contacts.Another thing is that my father is an alumnus of of a large hotel management undergraduate program at a large university. The recognition is second only to Cornell. We have an endowed scholarship in our name and he is a notable benefactor and was, when he was well, a very active alumni and very close to directors of the program. He hasnt told ANYONE about his illness; a client considering using him might not if word got around that he had cancer. He has been the sole employee for over ten years, he invested 100,000 in expanding his business office lease, private contractor with commission agreement - no salary - and an admin assistant making 55K yr. He did this to grow the company so he could have something to sell when he retired, but got diagnosed that August. Weve closed maybe two deals since then. The contractor has a ton of contacts from CRE investment career, she is frustrated with how little money she has made since my father got sick compared to what they could have.This contractor would be fine to take over the business. She doesnt have the money to buy it or run it herself. She could definitely help me. I think my father would prefer to wrap things up. I think theres still value in the name and potentially relationships with his centers of influence. TLDR I dont even what these mean but Im guessing bottom line: My ideal scenario is to keep a percentage of the business as well as full ownership of the LLC name. Would this enable another VP to take a larger share of the business, run it with me as a lower level employee so I can learn about maintain a large stake?  <response>: Since you dont have any experience in the industry, it would probably be easier to either sell or close the business if a buyer cant be found. If you want to keep the business, you will probably have to hire someone with your dads qualifications to run the business for you. If you can find someone to do that, then they could train you in the business while you apply for the realty license no clue how long it takes to obtain one - I know nothing about real estate. It could be a good scenario if you can find the right person.Either way you go, it will probably not be easy. I think sometimes people get rose-colored glasses about being self-employed. But actually, when you are the boss it means you have to be willing to work harder than everyone else, and be responsible for the businesss success or failure. Running a business is hard. Selling is hard too, because you have to find a qualified buyer. Whatever you decide, I wish you the best of luck. And while your dad is still around, make as much use as possible of his expertise while you can. 