If you’re selling a business for the first time, you might have a preconceived notion of the type of buyer that’s most likely to purchase your business. However, the truth is that sellers often get competitive and attractive offers from buyers that they were not expecting to have an interest in their business. Let’s take a look…
In the day-to-day routine of running your business, it is easy to forget that eventually the day will come when you need to sell. The last thing that any business owner wishes to discover is that they are ready to exit, but they are hopelessly underprepared. One of the key ways to prevent this from happening is…
Business owners are usually too busy running their business to deal with the fact that retirement will arrive one day. Ultimately, every business owner walks away from their business. The sooner you start preparing for that day, the better off you’ll be. Whether it is an established location, relationships with customers and suppliers, or an understanding of…
When the time comes to sell a business, any business, confidentiality must be placed at the top of the list. One of the quickest ways to damage any business that is for sale is for confidentiality to be breached. Once confidentiality is breached it can be difficult, or even impossible, to contain or repair the damage. No…
The old saying that “timing is everything,” usually applies to selling one’s business. Ultimately, every business owner will have to exit their business, and the sooner one prepares to sell, the better the final results will be. With each passing year, more and more baby boomers are reaching retirement age. In many cases, this means that they…
No one wants to waste their time and energy trying to sell their business to someone who isn’t actually planning to buy. That’s why it’s so important for you and your business broker or M&A advisor to focus on the most qualified and serious buyers. But how can you really make these kinds of assessments about a…
The old saying that “there is no replacement for experience” is a truism that has stood the test of time. The simple fact is that a lack of experience can dismantle your deal. Consider the following scenario—a business owner nearing retirement owns a multi-location retail operation that is doing several million in annual sales. He interviews a…
Every business has to be concerned about maintaining confidentiality. In fact, it is common for business owners to become somewhat obsessed with confidentiality when they are getting ready to sell their business.It goes without saying that owners don’t want the word that they are selling to spread to the public, employees or most certainly their competitors. Yet,…
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 have some…
Nothing strikes fear in the heart of a business owner like a legal mistake. The best way to ensure that you will avoid serious legal issues is to work with a trusted and experienced team. Otherwise, it’s easy to accidentally miss necessary steps. When you’re selling a business, there are a lot of moving pieces, and that…