June 2012

The buyer and seller have both agreed on the sale price and the terms of the transaction. Everyone appears satisfied. As the day of closing approaches, the seller seems less cooperative and more apprehensive about selling the business. Ultimately, the sale falls apart. Who’s to blame? The buyer was ready, willing and able to buy […]

If you are considering selling your business, remember that there are positive factors that influence value and those that detract from it. Looking at your business from a buyer’s perspective is important since a prudent buyer will be adding and subtracting these various factors when arriving at an asking price. It is perhaps more important

Experienced buyers of large businesses have tended to spurn the smaller business, citing traditional “negatives” involved in this type of transaction. Now big-time buyers are throwing away the don’t-buy-small book; or at least, they are beginning to read between the lines. The so-called shortcomings of the small business acquisition can actually be opportunities in disguise.

If you are an independent business owner, you are most likely also an independent business seller–if not now, you will be somewhere down the road. The Small Business Administration reports that three to five years is a long enough stretch for many business owners and that one in every three plans to sell, many of

It’s easy to be negative about cost-cutting. “Everything just costs more,” a business owner will say; the subtext being, “What’s the use?” Don’t give up! There are ways to cut costs. The first step is to identify where the money goes . . . and why. Then look at creative ways to shave off the

Strong Points Flexible and positive attitude Creative and comfortable with risk-taking Goal-focused and committed to success Organized Energetic Weak Points Impatient with achieving goals Distractible; tolerant of interruptions Distrustful of “the new” (especially technology) Tendency to stray from business plan Failure to delegate authority and tasks

Now that we crossed that much-heralded bridge to the 21st century and once on the other side, there will be new challenges, but many of the secrets of succeeding in independent business will remain the same. Ask yourself the following questions to see how you measure up to these old-and-new standards of entrepreneurial excellence: Are

You’ve make the big decision to sell. Your books are in order, you’ve spiffed up the premises. What are you waiting for? Many sellers get to this threshold and then become concerned about confidentiality. They do not want the news of their decision to reach their customers, competitors, employees, or creditors. After all, they figure,

“Independent business owner” is a phrase with two meanings. Of course, it means being the owner of an independent business. But another way to look at “independent business owner” is to let this phrase define the very personality of the person at the helm. Independent. Confident. Self-assured. Strong-willed. These are vital entrepreneurial attributes, but, ironically,

Selling your business is a major decision! You have devoted your time, money and energy to building, running and operating your business. It may well represent your life’s work. You have decided that now is the right time to sell, and you want the very best professional guidance you can get. This is when working