Going into business for yourself is a big step - one that can be full of apprehension, even fear. But also excitement! Most small business buyers have never owned a business. Most also bought a different business than what they had been looking for. These business buyers, with the help of a business broker, [...]
Suppose you are thinking about buying a small business. What do you care about; what is important to you? Ultimately, the most important factor is anticipated future earnings of the business – what returns the business will produce in the future on your investment of capital and your investment in labor. If you buy [...]
Here you will find some basic information for anyone thinking about buying or selling a business. As with any transaction, knowledge is key. The more information both buyers and sellers have about the process of acquiring or selling a business, the easier the transaction will be. A Buyer Profile The average individual interested in [...]
If you are a serious buyer, you should have ready answers to the following questions: Why are you considering buying a business and why now? What is your time-frame to find and close to a suitable business? Are you looking for a specific business or are you open to different opportunities? Have you determined [...]
Selling your business can be an emotional event. "Seller's remorse" is one of the major reasons that sales aren’t made and deals don't close. The business may have been in the family for many generations. The owner may have bought it and turned it around or built it up from nothing but a great [...]
This may be a bit premature since you may not have decided to sell, but it may help in your decision-making process to understand not only who the buyer is, but also what he or she will want to know in order to buy your business. Here are some questions that you might be [...]
A recent survey revealed that the average time between listing and sale was 9 months. Why does it take so long to sell a business? Price and terms are the biggest reasons, but not the only ones. Price and terms are the biggest reasons. Not over-pricing the business at the beginning of the sales [...]
Owners are often asked, “do you think you will ever sell your business?” The answer varies from, “when I can get my price” to “never” to “I don’t really know” to everything in between. Most sellers may think to themselves when asked this question, “I’ll sell when the time is right.” Obviously, misfortune can [...]
Read a great article in the December 2013 issue of Entrepreneur Magazine (“Ask the Money Guy” column) that discusses the issues surrounding the prospect of selling a small business to fund retirement. The gist of the article is that to get the most from a sale of your business, in a crowded field of business sellers [...]
A commonly accepted method to price a small business is to use Seller’s Discretionary Earnings (SDE) and applying a multiplier. Essentially, SDE is an estimate of the cash flow the business produces for one working owner. The multiplier is developed from the characteristics of the business and/or sales of similar businesses. The International Business [...]