Unlocking Your Potential Through Business Ownership

As a business owner, you gain freedom and the potential to earn more than you might otherwise earn. If you are ready to tackle the hard work involved in business ownership, you may be prepared to take the next step. Two main advantages to being a business owner include forging ahead with more freedom and also boosting your income. However, you must be prepared to take some risks.  Grow Your Income Owning your own business gives you the opportunity to grow your income. While owning a business can dramatically boost your income, this typically comes with both increased risk and more work.  Generally, the longer a business owner maintains their business, the greater the potential for profits. Business owners who have operated their businesses for ten years or more generally earn over $100,000 per year. It’s important to remember that it may take years before you achieve the income level you desire. Building a successful business takes time, and increasing the profits of an existing … [Read more...]

Selling Your Business: Key Questions and Answers

Selling your business is a significant decision. You’ve invested considerable time, money, and effort into building and running it—perhaps it even represents your life’s work. Now that you’ve decided it’s time to sell, getting the best professional advice is crucial. This is where working with a professional business broker can be the key to not just selling your business, but selling it at the best price and terms possible. Here are some common questions sellers often ask, along with answers based on experience and expertise. If you have additional questions, don’t hesitate to consult your business broker. What Can Business Brokers Do, and What Can’t They Do? Business brokers are specialists who facilitate the smooth sale of businesses. It’s important to understand their capabilities as well as their limitations. A professional broker helps sellers price the business and structure the sale in a way that benefits both the buyer and seller. They can locate potential buyers, guide … [Read more...]

The Critical Role of Storytelling in Selling a Business

Every business has a story to tell. In fact, selling a business involves the art of storytelling as you must pique interest and enthusiasm in the mind of the buyer. Through storytelling, you can convey not only the history of a business, but also its future.  Good business brokers and M&A advisors are storytellers who know how to relay the core truths and the core values of a given business. Storytelling is a fantastic way for business owners to let the world know more about their business, why it is special and what it can offer another owner in the future. A good business story will convey the future of the business and help a prospective owner see themselves as the lead character in an ongoing narrative. Great stories and great businesses are ones that can clearly present their truths and encourage the recipients of the story to take action. When it comes to selling a business, the story must begin with the financials. As soon as a business broker begins working with a seller, … [Read more...]

How Inexperience Can Impact Your Business Sale

The lessons learned through hands-on experience are often irreplaceable. When it comes to selling or transferring ownership of a business, inexperience can be particularly troublesome. Many business brokers and M&A advisors have observed firsthand the jeopardy business owners can face when they either attempt to sell their business on their own or engage someone without the proper experience. For instance, holding an MBA or a law degree cannot substitute for the years of tangible experience that brokerage professionals possess. Selling a business is a complex process, and there is simply no substitute for experience. Let’s examine some common errors stemming from inexperience. First on the list is the failure to involve the CFO. An inexperienced party should not handle financial details, as serious buyers will want to meet with your CFO. This meeting will be part of the due diligence process, so it’s essential to involve your CFO early on. Organizing a meeting between your CFO and … [Read more...]

Unraveling the Complex Realities of Valuations

Determining an accurate valuation for a company is far from straightforward. It involves a range of complex, and often rapidly changing, factors. The challenge is compounded by the fact that some aspects of valuation are inherently subjective. This means that different professionals might ultimately arrive at different conclusions. Despite these challenges, we can establish ways to navigate the valuation process effectively. One key factor to consider is the ownership structure of the company. A company that is partially or fully employee-owned, for instance, may be perceived as less marketable. Many owners may not realize that Employee Stock Ownership Plans (ESOPs) can significantly impact the overall value of a company, however, this is true as well.  Intellectual property (IP) is another crucial element that comes into play with a valuation. Assessing the value of patents, trademarks, and copyrights can be challenging but is essential for an accurate valuation. The value of these … [Read more...]

What You Need to Know About Family Business Legacy and Transition

Family businesses are quite common. Estimates suggest there are more than 5 million family businesses in the United States alone. While family businesses are prevalent, this does not diminish their unique nature, as a family business often plays a central role in the family’s identity. Family members are typically deeply attached to the business and its achievements. They may see their own futures intertwined with it.  Owners of family businesses are generally very invested in their ventures and view them as part of their legacy. Consequently, sellers often hope to find buyers who will appreciate and continue their legacy. It is common for sellers to seek buyers who share their vision for the business. Adding to the complexity, about one-third of family business owners never plan to retire. As a result, many family businesses lack a succession or exit plan, which can lead to instability and potentially jeopardize the business’s future. It is advisable for family business owners to work … [Read more...]

The Invaluable Benefits of Working with A Business Broker

One of the worst mistakes any business owner can make is neglecting their business during the sales process. It is quite common for sellers to become overwhelmed, lose focus, and see their business suffer as a result. The last thing any business owner wants is for their business to encounter problems right before it is put up for sale. Fortunately, there are straightforward and effective steps that business owners can take to avoid this potential pitfall. Maintaining Business Operations Ensuring that your business is ready to be sold means making sure everything is in top condition before the business is placed on the market. In short, you don’t want to make any major changes to the way your business normally functions. Your hours of operation, inventory levels, and other key business factors should remain as stable as possible. To put it another way, everything should be “business as usual” until you have officially sold your business. Maintaining a “business as usual” environment … [Read more...]

Selling Your Business Like a Pro

Having a player mindset when selling a business can be a real gamechanger. The goal with this approach is to steer clear from coming across as desperate or highly motivated to sell. Instead, a seller who embraces a player mindset operates from a position of strength. It’s all about realizing you have something of value and then realistically taking steps to move forward. Keep Operations in Check It is vital that you, as a seller, realize that your number one responsibility is to your business. You must keep normal hours of operation and activities should proceed as normal. This will ensure that everything at your business is operating at peak levels. Inventories must be maintained, team members must stay on board, and you should continue moving forward as though there is no sale on the horizon. After all, business deals fall apart every single day. Stay Realistic  Being a player doesn’t mean being unrealistic or greedy when it comes to pricing. While you, and your business broker or … [Read more...]

Strategic Negotiation: Essential Tactics for Deal Success

Negotiation can evoke a range of feelings: some people thrive on it, others dread it, and many fall somewhere in between. Regardless of your stance, the ultimate goal remains the same: to emerge successfully from the negotiation. Mastering effective negotiation methods and tactics can give you an edge where others might falter. The objective is to close deals effectively. Here are three negotiation strategies that have been proven to close more deals.  Leverage the Experts  One common belief is that you should never negotiate your own deal. Business owners are often too emotionally invested in their businesses, which can cloud their judgment. Buyers can also become overly emotionally attached. Engaging a professional business broker or M&A advisor can be a strategic move toward achieving a favorable outcome. A professional broker not only knows what constitutes a fair price but also understands the many factors that influence the negotiation. Take it or Leave it Another strategy to … [Read more...]

Why Business Brokerage Professionals Use Term Sheets

Term sheets are invaluable in that they can serve as a point of orientation during negotiations. Thanks to term sheets it is possible to keep everyone involved, focused and on target.  What is a Term Sheet?  These nonbinding agreements detail the basic terms and conditions of a deal. It is different from a legally binding agreement, so it is often misunderstood by buyers and sellers. However, the term sheet serves the purpose of moving a deal along and helping both parties to get on the same page.  A term sheet can be thought of as a preliminary proposal that contains a range of information that is essential to the deal. A well-crafted term sheet includes more than the price, as it also includes key terms and any major considerations, such as employment agreements, consulting and more. In Russ Robb’s book, “Streetwise Selling Your Business,” Robb concluded that a term sheet serves to include the price range along with the basic structure of a deal. Importantly, Robb also notes that a … [Read more...]

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