If you are even thinking about selling your business, it’s important to know the questions that buyers generally want answers to. For example, the first question almost always asked by buyers is: If this is such a good business why is it for sale? How you answer this question can make or break a sale.…
You may not have any intention of selling your business today. But, what happens to your business if you get hit by a truck, fall ill or are injured in some other way making you unable to operate your business for a fairly long period of time? Will your spouse step in? Do you have…
Considering selling your business? Just want to increase the value of your business? Here are some areas to look at that can fairly quickly increase profits, which are, after all, a main building block in creating value. • PRICING: Are the prices of the products or services set too low? Owners too often continue with…
Prospective buyers don’t want to hear about “what the business really makes” – they want to see the books and records that show what is down in black and white. Here is the old story about proper accounting procedures, or lack of: A Greek restaurant owner had his own bookkeeping system. He kept his accounts…
Naturally, sellers want the highest price they can get for their business. In come cases, however, it might not be the best deal. For this reason, every offer should be scrutinized carefully. When an offer is presented, the first thing a seller looks for is the price. If it is lower than anticipated, the seller’s…
A recent survey revealed the following percentage breakdown of last year’s business sales by business types. The information was furnished by business brokerage firms nationally and compiled by Business Brokerage Press. Retail businesses 17% Food & Drink related business 14% Auto related businesses 9% Distribution type businesses 11% Manufacturing businesses 16% Service type businesses 25%…
The most recent editions of BizComps, the leading resource for comparable sales data (www.bizcomps.com ) has some interesting information on small business pricing based on the three major regions of the country – Eastern states, the Central states and the Western states. They cover thousands of actual business sales over a ten year period. Here…
The buyer loves your business; it’s just what he or she has been looking for. He has reviewed your financial statements and has made an offer contingent on several items. You’ve reviewed the offer and it looks fine, so what’s next? The contingencies in the deal mean that the buyer or his or her advisors…