The Sign Businesses For Sale Blog
Finding the Best Business for You
Owning a business and owning the right kind of business for you are, of course, two wildly different things. Owning the wrong kind of business can make you absolutely miserable. So if you are considering buying a business, it is prudent that you invest the time and effort into determining the best kind of business for your needs and your personality. In a recent Forbes article, “What is the Right Type of Business for You to Buy?” author Richard Parker explores how buyers should go about finding the right business fit.
Parker is definitely an expert when it comes to working with buyers as he has spoken with an estimated 100,000 buyers over his career. In that time, Parker has concluded that it is critical that you don’t “learn on your own time.”
His key piece of advice concerning what type of business to buy is as follows. “While there are many factors to be considered, the answer is simple: whatever it is you do best has to be the single most important driving factor of the revenues and profits of any business you consider purchasing.” And he also believes that expertise is more important than experience. Parker’s view is that it is critical for prospective buyers to perform an honest self-assessment in order to identify their single greatest business skill and area of expertise. The last thing you want to do is pretend to be something that you are not.
Parker makes one very astute point when he notes, “Small business owners generally wear many hats: this is usually why their businesses remain small. Remember that every big business was once a small business.” As Parker points out, whoever is in charge of the business will ultimately determine how the business will evolve, or not evolve. Selecting the right business for you and your skillsets is pivotal for the long-term success of your business.
All of this adds up to make the process of due diligence absolutely essential. Before buying a business, you must understand every aspect of that business and make certain that the business is indeed a good fit for you. According to Parker, if you don’t love your business, it will have trouble growing. This point is impossible to refute. Owning and growing a business requires a tremendous amount of time and effort. If you don’t enjoy owning and/or operating your business, success will be a much more difficult proposition.
Finding the right business for you is a complicated process even after you have performed a proper evaluation of your skills and interests. After all, do you really want a solid business with great potential for growth that you would hate owning? By working with brokers and M&A advisors, you can find the best business fit for your needs, personality, and goals. These professionals are invaluable allies in the process of discovering the right business for you.
Copyright: Business Brokerage Press, Inc.
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Great Tips for Selling Your Business
It takes preparation and focus to sell most businesses. The reality of the situation is that it can take years to achieve this goal. Partnering with a business broker or M&A Advisor is a smart step towards selling any business, as these pros know the very best tips. In that spirit, let’s take a look at some great tips for selling your business.
Getting your business ready to sell means carefully evaluating the foundation. Any significant problem can send buyers “running for the hills,” so be sure that you work out any problems well before placing your business on the market. If you have any litigation or environmental issues, you most definitely want to address those issues before it is time to sell. Nothing will scare away prospective buyers quicker than pending litigation or the specter of a potentially costly environmental clean-up.
A second key issue you’ll want to address is determining who exactly has the legal authority to sell the business. If a board of directors or majority stockholder situation is in place, then selling a business can become more complex than it would be if you were dealing with a sole proprietorship or partnership. Again, the last thing you want is for “legal surprises” to occur when you get ready to sell a business.
If you have non-negotiable items, be certain that those items are discussed upfront. Revealing your non-negotiable items at the very beginning of negotiations will save everyone involved a great deal of trouble.
Tip three involves maintaining a flexible mindset. In most circumstances, you simply can’t have everything that you want. Both buyers and sellers need to be flexible. Sellers will want to be flexible about any real estate. Buyers may not want real estate associated with a given business, and you need to be prepared for this. Sellers should also be prepared to accept valuation multiples for lack of management depth and other factors, such as reliance on a small number of customers.
At the end of the day, sellers should partner with experienced professionals such as attorneys and business brokers. You’ve put a lot of time, energy and resources into building your business. When it comes time to sell, it is only prudent to put together the best team in order to achieve optimal results.
It’s Time to Exit. Are you Ready?
Thinking about whether or not you are ready to exit is an important question. It’s something that every business owner will have to address at some point. Importantly, you don’t want to wait until the 11th hour to prepare to sell your business. There are far too many pieces in this particular puzzle to wait until the last minute. You’ll want to begin the process sooner by asking yourself some key questions.
Determining Value
First, you’ll need to determine the actual value of your business. It is a harsh truth, but what you think your business is worth and what the market feels that it is worth may be two very different things.
This point serves to underscore the importance of working with a business broker or M&A advisor early in the process. An experienced broker knows how to go about determining a price that will generate interest and seem fair. Remember that at the end of the day, it will be the marketplace that determines the value of your business, but working with a seasoned professional is an excellent way to match your offering price with what the market will ultimately bear.
Going Within
Secondly, you’ll want to consider whether or not you truly want to sell. It is not uncommon for business owners to begin the process of selling their business only to realize a few hard facts. Wanting to sell and the time being right to sell are often two different things.
Upon placing your business on the market for sale, you may learn that you’re not emotionally or financially ready. If this happens to you, consider it a learning experience that will serve you well down the line.
Get Your Ducks in a Row
If you have done a financial assessment, a little soul searching and have begun working with a business broker or M&A advisor to determine that now is a good time to sell your business, then there are several steps you’ll need to take. You can be sure that any serious prospective buyer will want a good deal of information regarding your company.
At the top of the list of items potential buyers will want to see are three years of profit and loss statements as well as federal income tax returns for the business. Other important documents ranging from lease and lease related documents, lists of loans against the business and a copy of a franchise agreement, when applicable, are all additional documents that you will need to provide. You should also have a list of fixtures and equipment, copies of equipment leases, lists of fixtures and equipment, and an approximate amount of inventory on hand. A failure to not have this information organized and ready to present at a moment’s notice could be a costly mistake.
Working with professionals, such as accountants, lawyers, and brokers, is a savvy move. Owning and operating a business can be a complex process, and the same holds true for selling a business. Investing the time to seek out experienced and professional advice is the first step in selling your business.