[caption id="attachment_1626" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Photo Credit: Jason Hargrove via Compfight cc[/caption] Know what your business is worth. Don’t even think about selling until you know what your business should sell for. Are you prepared to lower your price if necessary? Prepare now. There is an often-quoted statement...
[caption id="attachment_1621" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Photo Credit: Dave Dugdale via Compfight cc[/caption] In many cases, the sale of a small company is “event” driven. That is, the reason for sale is often an event such as a health decline or illness, divorce, partnership issues, or even a...
[caption id="attachment_1571" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Photo Credit: Victor1558 via Compfight cc[/caption] There is the oft-told story about Ray Kroc, the founder of McDonalds. Before he approached the McDonald brothers at their California hamburger restaurant, he spent quite a few days sitting in his car watching the business. Only...
[caption id="attachment_1563" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Photo Credit: Victor1558 via Compfight cc[/caption] There is the old anecdote about the immigrant who opened his own business in the United States. Like many small business owners, he had his own bookkeeping system. He kept his accounts payable in a cigar...
[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...