>, if I sell my small business, is a non-compete really something that's practical? Yes, it's practical. If the non-compete is explicit and part of the condi

>, if I sell my small business, is a non-compete really something that's practical? Yes, it's practical. If the non-compete is explicit and part of the conditions for the sale, the owner-seller is supposed to factor that into her selling price. E.g. if the owner has a mental price of $2 million to sell the furniture business but is unhappy about not being able to open another store, she needs to raise her price to $3 million to be content with not competing. In other words, the buyer of the business is partially paying the previous owner to not compete -- for a limited time such as 5 years. Maybe you're thinking of employees and their unenforceable non-compete clauses trying to prevent them working for competitors in California. That doesn't apply to the owners selling their businesses.