Answering services, message machines, voice mail, "on hold" music, speaker phones . . . where would a business be without them? Perhaps--in some situations--a lot better off! In the small to midsized business, where every call should count, owners and managers need to ensure that...
There are myriad 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...
Buyers are expected to perform a thorough due diligence on both the business and the seller(s). However, many sellers don’t do an extensive due diligence on the buyer(s). Deals do not always close; many are aborted in the very early stages, and others tank somewhere...
Sellers have to ask this question and give it serious thought prior to making the decision to sell. In too many instances, sellers get to the proverbial altar and then back down the aisle. In most cases, this happens because the seller’s decision to sell...
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...
The “loose lips” tagline was a common World War II phrase and was on posters everywhere. The problem continues on the business battlefront today. Leaks of confidential information coming from, apparently, some of the Directors of HP have been in the news everywhere. This is...
The 65-year old owner of a multi-location retail operation doing $30 million in annual sales decided to retire. He interviewed a highly recommended intermediary and was impressed. However, he had a nephew who had just received his MBA and who told his uncle that he...
In many cases, the sale of a small company is “event” driven. That is, the reason for sale is health, divorce, partnership issues, even decline in business. A challenging reason is one in which the owners want to retire and live happily ever after. Here...
Business Appraisers, before beginning an assignment, like to know the purpose of the appraisal. Usually the assignment demands “bullet proof” documentation: comparables, EBITDA multiples, projections, discount rates, etc. Unfortunately, in situations where the purpose of the valuation is to establish a selling price, the business...
A buyer was interested in a building products manufacturer that did $70 million a year in sales. Although the business was profitable, it seemed that their margins were lower than they should have been for this industry. The buyer asked the seller how they priced...