What Sellers Don’t Expect When Selling Their Companies

In the proverbial “perfect world,” business owners would plan three to five years ahead to sell their companies.  But, as one industry expert has suggested, business owners very seldom plan to sell; rather, selling is “event driven.”  Partner disputes, divorce, burn-out, health, and new competition are examples of events that can force the sale of a business. Sellers often find, after they have decided to sell, that the unexpected happens and they are “blindsided” and caught off-guard.  Here are a few of the unexpected events that can occur. The Substantial Time Commitment Sellers find that the time necessary to comply with the requests of not only the intermediary, but also the potential buyers can take valuable time away from the actual running of the business.  The information necessary to compile the offering memorandum takes time to collect.  Many sellers are unaware of the amount of their time necessary to gather all the documents and information required for the offering … [Read more...]

The Importance of Understanding Leases

Leases should never be overlooked when it comes to buying or selling a business.  After all, where your business is located and how long you can stay at that location plays a key role in the overall health of your business.  It is easy to get lost with “larger” issues when buying or selling a business.  But in terms of stability, few factors rank as high as that of a lease.  Let’s explore some of the key facts you’ll want to keep in mind where leases are concerned. The Different Kinds of Leases In general, there are three different kinds of leases: sub-lease, new lease and the assignment of the lease.  These leases clearly differ from one another, and each will impact a business in different ways. A sub-lease is a lease within a lease.  If you have a sub-lease then another party holds the original lease.  It is very important to remember that in this situation the seller is the landlord.  In general, sub-leasing will require that permission is granted by the original landlord.  With a … [Read more...]

Day One is the Day to Prepare Your Exit

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 Ahead Much of Shepard's thinking centers around the fact that a large percentage of startups end in acquisitions. In particular, he notes that in 2017, “mergers and acquisitions accounted for 93 percent of the 809 ventures capital-backed exits, yielding a total of $45.6 billion in disclosed exit value.” Not too surprising, he also points out that according to a recent Silicon Valley Bank survey, over 50% of all startups are “hoping for an acquisition.” For this reason, Shepard points out that entrepreneurs should be thinking about who may potentially acquire them from day one. In particular, startups will want to build their companies … [Read more...]

What Makes the Sale of a Business Fall Through?

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 play in contributing to the wrecked deal: The Seller 1. In some instances, the seller doesn't have a valid reason for entering into the sale process. Without a strong reason for selling, he or she has neither the willingness to negotiate nor the flexibility to see the sale to a conclusion. Without such a commitment, the desire to sell is not powerful enough to overcome the many complexities necessary to finalize the sales process. 2. Some sellers are merely testing the waters. As detailed above, they are not at that “hungry” stage that provides the push toward a successful transaction. These sellers merely want to see if anyone wants to … [Read more...]

When It’s Time to Sell, Put Your Strengths First

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 sell. Understand Your Buyer You know your business, but you don't necessarily know what buyer is best for it in the long run. If you've never sold a business before (and most business owners haven't), then you may not know how to best position and present your business for sale. A business broker is immensely valuable in this regard. These professionals are very good at determining which prospective buyers are serious and which ones are not. Additionally, a business broker will use their own databases of prospective and vetted buyers and try to match your business up with the prospective buyers that are most likely to be a good fit. When … [Read more...]

Evaluating Your Company’s Weaknesses

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 the beginning, has been an investment. It's an investment in your time, your mental energy and, of course, your financial resources. The time and effort you expend to locate, understand and then fix your businesses' weaknesses is time very well spent. Addressing and remedying your businesses' weakness will not only pay dividends in the here and now, but will also help get your business ready to sell. Let's turn our attention to some of the key areas of weakness that can cause some buyers to look elsewhere. An Industry in Decline A declining market can serve as a major red flag for buyers. You as a businessowner must be savvy enough to … [Read more...]

What Should You Evaluate When Buying a Business?

Buying a business can be an exciting prospect. For many prospective business owners, owning a business is the fulfillment of a decades long dream. With all of that excitement comes considerable emotion. For this reason, it is essential to step back and carefully evaluate several key factors to help you decide whether or not you are making the best financial and life decision for you. In this article, we'll examine five key factors you should consider before buying a business. What is Being Sold? If you hate the idea of owning a clothing store, then why buy one? The bottom line is that you have to have a degree of enthusiasm about what you are buying otherwise you'll experience burnout and lose interest in the business. How Good is the Business Plan? Before getting too excited about owning a business, you'll want to take a look at the business plan. You'll want to know the current business owner's goals and how they plan on going about achieving those goals. If they've not been … [Read more...]

The Top Three Major Legal Mistakes to Avoid During a Sale

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 when selling your business. Major Mistake 1 – You Skipped the Non-Disclosure Agreement Nothing quite invites trouble like skipping the non-disclosure agreement. If a deal falls through, then you have the NDA backing you up. This document ensures that the prospective buyer doesn't tell the world that your business is up for sale. Never assume that a deal is going through until it actually is 100% complete. Buying or selling a business is a complex process with lots of moving parts. There is plenty of room for things to go wrong, and that is why you always need to have an NDA in place. Major Mistake 2 – You Don't Work with an … [Read more...]

Interested in Buying a Business? Check Out These 3 Commonly Overlooked Areas

When it comes to buying a business, nothing is more important than the factor of due diligence. For most people, this investment is the single largest financial decision that they will ever make. And with this important fact in mind, you'll want to leave absolutely no stone unturned. Let's examine the three most commonly overlooked areas when it comes to buying a business: retirement plans, 1099's and W-2's, and legal documents. 1. Examine All Legal Documents While it may sound like a “pain” to investigate all the legal documents relating to a business that you are vetting for purchase, that is exactly what you have to do. The very last thing you want is to buy a business only to have the corporate veil pierced. Everything from trademarks and copyrights to other areas of intellectual property should be carefully examined. You should be quite sure that you receive copies of everything from consulting agreements to documentation on intellectual property. 2. Retirement Plans Don't … [Read more...]

5 Key Factors in Transferring Your Business to a Family Member

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 consider when transferring your business to a family member. Factor #1 Gifting Can Have Numerous Benefits Will you be selling your business to a family member or simply gifting that business? Gifting comes with several major advantages, for example, this approach can reduce your real estate taxes. Also, the gifting process can allow you to maintain a level of control if the agreement is written properly. Factor #2 The Buy-Sell Agreement Don't overlook the importance of the buy-sell agreement, which works to put everything in writing. You may be tempted to forgo a contract since you are dealing with a family member, but this is a mistake, … [Read more...]