pdakin

Yesterday I met with an attorney.  We were chatting about the sale of a business and the implications of inventory. Imagine, it is the day before close, after a month or two of due diligence.  The demands of the buyer have been slightly on the nerves of the seller.  After all, did the buyer not realize the great value of this business?  The buyer feels like he had to slug through the due [...]

A widget shop, is not a widget shop, is not a…  In other words every business is unique and finding the value in a book just doesn’t work (very well, usually.)  At best, finding the right price for a business for sale in a book should only be a single source and not the source weighted the most. Q. Why? (Thanks so much for asking.) A. Because 1) each owner does things differently,  [...]

Businesses that make a profit (total net to owner) that is increasing each year will be also increasing in value to a prospective buyer.  In this case, the value of the business for sale is increasing because both total $'s that go into the owner's pocket positively influences the value as does longevity. Most businesses are not making great money in the first year they are open and five months is not particularly [...]

We spend so much time these days in some sort of remote communication, and the same is true of buying and selling businesses.  Is this a good thing?  Does it matter? Communication styles are unique to each individual.  This holds true in business transactions. Some people are more secure in a face–to–face communication and others in remote. Some like to actually speak rather than email.  Taking care in how one communicates within the [...]

It is easy.  If it is not for sale, then move it BEFORE you even list it.  As a business-for-sale owner, know that the buyer will see it, covet it, and expect it. When a prospective buyer comes to visit, the business should look just as it would on the day the buyer takes over after close…just as clean, just as decorated, with the files in order.  One never knows where the prospective [...]

As you are buying a business perhaps it is not exactly top on your mind but managing a move can break your back, figuratively or literally. If a business owner really wants to sell the business, the fewer perceived obstacles for perspective buyers to over come increases the chances that an offer will be forthcoming.  Not forcing a new owner to move a business, at least in the short term, is best.  Not [...]

When selling a business, most owners WANT to help the new buyer, for several reasons.  A typical Seller, whether they started the business or merely put their heart and soul into it for a couple of years, have an emotional vested interest in seeing the business do well in the future.  Add to that a financial concern in the future performance of the company and you have a highly motivated prior owner. A [...]

I once bought a business where it was specified that the software was included.  What was neglected in the purchase agreement were the terms “and software license.” “ What difference does it make,” said the seller after the transaction, the software is on the computer. The difference was that if the computer crashed and the software needed to be re-loaded or updated, it could not be done because I did not own the [...]

Okay, so you made a mistake.  Does that mean you can not sell your business?  Not necessarily. Remember the Tylenol scare?  Something went wrong at Johnson and Johnson but they handled it right.  Today Johnson and Johnson could be sold, and is every day, in spite of the tainted Tylenol.  Likely as a result of that terrible incident, they are a safer organization for their staff, their clients, and their stockholders. Of course [...]

Lets face it, when not every business for sale actually sells, the seller should be playing to the buyer's hand as well as his own. In the very best scenario, the buyer wants to see 1)  Increasing revenues and net to owner 2)  Easily understood records and up to date contracts 3)  Low staff turnover with reasonable wages and benefits 4) A great looking work place 5)  Clean, current inventory 6) Well operating [...]