Pepperjam CTO, Greg Shepard recently published “Planning Your Exit Should Begin When You Launch” in Entrepreneur magazine. In this article, Shepard puts forward a variety of thought-provoking ideas including that entrepreneurs should be thinking about partnering early on with those they believe will ultimately want to buy their business. Thinking … [Read more...]

There are a myriad of reasons why the sale of a business doesn't close successfully; these multiple causes can, however, be broken down into four categories: those caused by the seller, those caused by the buyer, those that just happen (“acts of fate”), and those caused by third parties. The following examines the part each of these components can … [Read more...]

Putting your strengths first will help you sell your business. While this may seem obvious, a surprising number of business owners will either improperly index the strengths of their business or fail to emphasize those strengths adequately. In this article, we will examine five key business strengths that you should focus on when it comes time to … [Read more...]

The time you spend evaluating your company's weaknesses is, as it turns out, one of the single best investments you can hope to make. No one should understand your company better than you. But to fully understand your company, it is essential that you invest the time to understand your company's various strengths and weakness. Your company, from … [Read more...]

The business sale process can be complex, which is part of the reason why it makes sense to have expert help in the form of a business broker. Legal mistakes can be very costly mistakes. A legal mistake can also bring the entire sale process to a sudden and complete halt. Let's take a closer look at what you can do to avoid these kinds of issues … [Read more...]

The odds are that you've put a great deal of yourself into your business. Inevitably, the day will come when you have no choice but to walk away from your business and begin a new chapter of your life. Quite often, businesses are transferred from one family member to another. In this article, we will examine 5 of the key factors you'll want to … [Read more...]

There are two key ingredients when it comes to selling a business: professionalism and confidentiality. If either of these two ingredients are lacking, then you'll most likely run into problems. Sadly, many sellers see their deals fall apart due to a breach of confidentiality. You certainly don't want to be among their ranks. The simple fact is … [Read more...]

No one works forever. Regardless of how much you love your business, sooner or later you will have to step away. Owning a business can be very demanding. This fact can be doubly true for owner-operators of businesses. The simple fact is that you'll have to embrace retirement at some point. Most business owners have never sold a business before … [Read more...]

Since one often hears the term “fair value” or “fair market value,” it would be easy to assume that “fairness opinion” means the same thing. A fairness opinion may be based to some degree on fair market value, but there the similarities end. Assume that you are president of a family business and the other members are not active in the business, … [Read more...]

Placing a price on a privately-held company is usually more complex than placing a value, or a price, on a publicly-held company. There are many reasons for this fact, but one of the top reasons is that privately-held companies don't have audited financial statements. Why are Audited Financial Statements Lacking in Privately-Held … [Read more...]

Are you looking for a way to perfect your presentation? Understanding what the typical serious buyer wants will help you get your business ready for selling. Let's turn our attention to looking at what these types of individuals and entities really want. After all, your time is precious. 1. An Interest in the Industry First, prospective buyers … [Read more...]

Like many things in life, timing can be everything when it comes to selling your company. Every day more and more baby-boomers are now reaching retirement age. Soon, the market will likely be flooded with companies looking to sell. According to a 2016 survey of business brokers, 54% plan to exit in the next ten years. We may be on the verge of … [Read more...]

Many experts agree that the best time to prepare to sell your business is when you start your business. That may sound extreme. However, few business owners reach that level of preparedness. A simple fact of life and owning a business is that most sales are event-driven. Factors such as problems with a partnership, health issues, burnout or even … [Read more...]

The simple fact is that without employees, you don't have a business. Given the tremendous importance of your employees, it is important to step back and reflect on the value associated with keeping those employees happy. There is a direct relationship between happy employees and happy customers. A happy employee takes steps to ensure that your … [Read more...]

Owners often neglect understanding their leases and this can be problematic. If your business is location-sensitive, then the status of your lease could be of paramount importance. Restaurants and retail businesses, for example, are usually location-dependent and need to pay special attention to their leases. But with that stated, every business … [Read more...]

Having a letter of intent signed by both the buyer and the seller can be a very good feeling. Everything can seem as though it is moving along just fine, but the due diligence process must still be completed. It is during due diligence that a seller decides whether he or she is going to finalize the deal. Much depends on what is discovered during … [Read more...]

Far too many prospective business buyers and sellers overlook just how important negotiations can be. But they can also be tricky. In general, there are three approaches to negotiations. Thinking through your negotiation strategies well before the time to buy or sell is a savvy and prudent move. Negotiation Tactic #1 Take It or Just Leave It In … [Read more...]

When it comes to selling a business, sellers simply must pay attention to red flags. Problems can always pop up, and that's why they need to keep their eyes open. Rarely does a “white knight” ride in and rescue a business with no questions asked. And if this were to happen, you should be asking, “Why?” Until a deal is officially inked, sellers … [Read more...]

If you are an independent business owner, you are most likely also an independent business seller–if not now, you will be somewhere down the road. The Small Business Administration reports that three to five years is a long enough stretch for many business owners and that one in every three plans to sell, many of them right from the outset. With … [Read more...]

The simple fact is that family businesses are different. After all, a family business means working with family and all the good and bad that comes with it. While an estimated 80% to 90% of all businesses are family owned, relatively few are properly planning for what happens when it comes time to sell. According to one study, a whopping 72% of … [Read more...]

There is little doubt that valuing a business is often complex. In part, this complexity is due to the fact that business evaluation is subjective. The simple fact is that the value of a business is often left to the mercy of the person conducting the evaluation. Adding yet another level of complexity is the fact that the person conducting the … [Read more...]

Selling your business doesn't have to feel like online dating, but for many sellers this is exactly what it can feel like. Many sellers are left wondering, “What exactly do buyers want to see in order to buy my company?” Working with a business broker is an excellent way to take some of the mystery out of this often elusive equation. In general, … [Read more...]

When it comes to selling a family-owned business there are no shortage of complicating factors, but one in particular pops up quite often. This article contains a true story about a popular family business that was built up from the ground up only to later meet a very sad ending. While this is just one story, there are countless similar … [Read more...]

Not everyone wants to sell when they feel as though they have to sell. Life changes, such as divorce or illness, can trigger the sale of a business. Everything from declining business revenue to partnership problems and more can send business owners scrambling for the exit sign. However, selling isn't always an option, especially for small … [Read more...]

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 … [Read more...]

A recent article posted on Forbes.com entitled “Small Business Owners Are Retiring, And Millennials May Not Fill The Gap On America's Main Street” uses the closing of a 235-year-old hardware store to prove a startling fact: the Millennial generation may not be suited to take over small business ownership like the generations before them. In the … [Read more...]

If you are unfamiliar with CSR or corporate social responsibility, you are certainly not alone. In the coming years, you'll be hearing a lot about CSR. In this article, we'll look at CSR and how, when implemented with sincerity, it can positively impact your company and its operation. Building Your CSR Locally One of the key ways that you can … [Read more...]

The saying “loose lips sink ships,” doesn't have ancient origins. While it sounds like one of those sayings that has been around forever, the saying was actually invented during World War II. It was taken quite literally. The idea was that a lack of secrecy could lead to the loses of actual ships or other wartime deaths. So in other words, this … [Read more...]

If you own a business, then ownership transition should definitely be a central topic in your planning. A few years ago, MassMutual Life Insurance Company conducted a very interesting and thought-provoking survey of family-owned businesses. Obviously, family-owned businesses have their own unique needs and challenges. The MassMutual Life … [Read more...]

The reasons for selling a business can be divided into two main categories. The first is a sale that is planned almost from the beginning or by an owner who knows that selling is or should be a planned event. The second is exactly the opposite – unplanned; the sale is motivated by a specific event such as health, divorce, business crises, etc. … [Read more...]

A large percentage of business owners are not just owners, but also operators. Owning a business can be exciting and rewarding, but it is also a tremendous amount of unending work. In the end, the “buck” stops with you. With that realization comes a significant amount of stress. It goes without saying that stress can lead to burnout. A business … [Read more...]

The time, effort and money you invest in keeping your employees happy is well worth it for your bottom line. Oftentimes business owners fail to consider the fact that unhappy employees can, and do, negatively impact every aspect of their operation. Your employees are your front line in dealing with your customers. If your employees are not … [Read more...]

The first key is to have your accountant take a look at your accounting procedures and make recommendations on how to improve them. He or she may also help in preparing financial projections for the coming year(s). Getting your company's financial house in order is very important in establishing the value of your firm. The second key is to review … [Read more...]

The National Foundation for Women Business Owners (NFWBO) identifies trends relating to the small business climate for women. New studies examining the role of female entrepreneurs by the NFWBO have yielded some surprising and eye-opening results. A joint IBM, NFWBO study of the top fifty women business owners as well as 10 additional … [Read more...]

Far too many customers have grown to expect poor customer service. Whether its rude employees and customer support or impersonal robotic phone system responses, customers are often shocked when they receive pleasant customer service. In such a climate, it is clear that businesses that simply treat customers well are taking advantage of a huge … [Read more...]

Burnout is a strange phenomenon in that often a business owner doesn't know that he or she is experiencing it until it is too late. Owners who feel beleaguered and over stressed frequently want to sell their business and move on. However, buyers are not so eager to accept burnout as a believable reason for why an owner wants to sell. It is the … [Read more...]

When it comes time to sell a business, not everything goes as planned. You may be one of the lucky ones and find that selling your business is a streamlined process with only a few unexpected occurrences. But most CEO's looking to sell a business find they can expect the unexpected. Let's take a closer look at some of the top surprises CEO's … [Read more...]

The time you invest getting to know and understand your customers is time very well spent. The feedback you get is gold, pure gold. Yet, there are other reasons why this is a prudent move. Let's take a look at some of the key reasons you should learn more about your customers and their specific needs. Today's world has become increasingly … [Read more...]

It is common for executives at companies to undergo an annual physical. Likewise, these same executives will likely examine their own investments at least once a year, if not more often. However, rather perplexingly, these same capable and responsible executives never consider giving their company an annual physical unless required to do so by … [Read more...]

Not every prospective buyer actually buys a business. In fact, out of 15 prospective buyers, only 1 actually makes a purchase. Sellers should remember that being a buyer can be stressful. The bottom line is that buying a business is usually one of the single largest financial decisions that a person can make. In this article, we are going to … [Read more...]

Business owners considering selling should realize that they have many different types of prospective buyers. Today's prospective business buyers are more sophisticated and diverse than ever before. Let's take a closer look at the different types of prospective buyers and what you should know about each of them. 1. Family Members Family members … [Read more...]

Confidentiality is a major concern in virtually every business. Quite often business owners become a little nervous when it comes time to sell their business; after all, business owners usually want to keep the fact that they are selling confidential. Yet, at the same time, business owners want to receive top-dollar for their businesses and sell … [Read more...]

How the purchase of a business will be structured is something that must be dealt with early on in the selling process. The simple fact is that the financing of the sale of a business is too important to treat as an afterthought. The final structure of any sale will be the result of the negotiations between buyer and seller. In order for the sale … [Read more...]

You may hear the word “goodwill” thrown around a lot, but what does it really mean? When it comes to selling a business, the term refers to all the effort that the seller put into a business over the year. Goodwill can be thought of as the difference between the various tangible assets that a business has and the overall purchase price. The … [Read more...]

Buying a business requires a good deal of capital or lender resources. The bottom line is that a large percentage of buyers don't have the necessary capital or lender resources to pay cash and that is where seller financing comes into play. The fact is that seller financing is quite common. In this article, we will take a deeper look at some of … [Read more...]

We've outlined below a few unexpected aspects of the business sale process that can pop up. Sometimes they severely impact the turnaround time of a sale. But if you can understand these potential issues better, you will be better prepared to try to circumvent them. 1. Do You Have Time on Your Side? It's helpful to use an intermediary who will … [Read more...]

The valuation is a major factor that influences the overall selling price of the property. Business appraisals are based upon a multitude of criteria and indisputable records such as comparables, projections, discount rates, EBITDA multiples, and more. While the appraiser may have all the information he or she needs, the business elements might … [Read more...]

Recently, Business Brokerage Press performed a survey of brokers across the country to see what sells at the highest rate, and what they discovered was very interesting. Retail business sold at 17%, food and drink related businesses at 14%, service oriented businesses sold at 25%, auto related businesses sold at 9%, manufacturing businesses sold … [Read more...]

It is always important to try and put yourself “in the other person's shoes.” This fact is of paramount importance when dealing with prospective buyers. Thinking like a prospective buyer could, in fact, be the difference between selling your business and not selling your business. Yet, it is important to continue to put yourself in your buyer's … [Read more...]

It is no great secret that sellers often aim high. The logic sellers use is simple, “I can always reduce my price.” While that is true, sellers do need to remember that if the asking price is initially too high, buyers won't even take a serious look. In short, your selling price must be bound by reality and what the market will bear. Pricing … [Read more...]