[caption id="attachment_1556" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Photo Credit: Lori Hersberger via Compfight cc[/caption] Burnout is an often-used reason for an owner selling his or her business. Potential buyers may have trouble accepting this as a valid reason for sale. However, burnout is a valid reason for selling one’s...
[caption id="attachment_1543" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Photo Credit: gadl via Compfight cc[/caption] Recent studies indicate that it now takes, on average, about eight to ten months to sell a small business. This figure seems to increase yearly. Why does it take so long to sell a business? Price and...
[caption id="attachment_1537" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Photo Credit: DoodleDeMoon via Compfight cc[/caption] There is the old saying that the time to develop an exit strategy is the day you open for business. Sounds good, but it’s not very realistic. Further, it also isn’t very optimistic. On the day...
[caption id="attachment_1516" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Photo Credit: CarbonNYC via Compfight cc[/caption] Buyers are generally categorized as belonging to one of the following groups although, in reality, most buyers fit into more than one. The Individual Buyer This is typically an individual with substantial financial resources, and with the type...
[caption id="attachment_589" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Photo Credit: faungg via Compfight cc[/caption] Sellers Don’t have a valid reason for selling. Are testing the waters to check the market and the price. (They are similar to the buyer who is “just shopping.”) Are completely unrealistic about the price and the market for...
Once the decision to sell has been made, the business owner should be aware of the variety of possible business buyers. Just as small business itself has become more sophisticated, the people interested in buying them have also become more divergent and complex. The following...
Selling one's business can be a traumatic and emotional event. In fact, "seller's remorse" is one of the major reasons that deals don't close. The business may have been in the family for generations. The owner may have built it from scratch or bought it...
Buyers buy a business for many of the same reasons that sellers sell businesses. It is important that the buyer is as serious as the seller when it comes time to purchase a business. If the buyer is not serious, the sale will never close....
The following is some basic information for anyone considering purchasing a business. Is may also be of interest to anyone thinking of selling their business. The more information and knowledge both sides have about buying and selling a business, the easier the process will become. A...
In many cases, the buyer and seller reach a tentative agreement on the sale of the business, only to have it fall apart. There are reasons this happens, and, once understood, many of the worst deal-smashers can be avoided. Understanding is the key word. Both...